AUBURNDALE, Fla. — An Auburndale Police Department sergeant was cited for speeding months after a November 2023 crash that killed a 5-year-old girl.
The decision to cite Sgt. Danny Swan with unlawful speed was made Thursday following a Polk County Sheriff's Office investigation.
Deputies said Swan was heading to U.S. Highway 92 at Old Winter Haven Road in his department Chevrolet Silverado on a call for help from a Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputy who reported a combative person. Swan activated his lights and sirens and was traveling east when he crashed into the side of a Kia sedan, driven by Jermanica Anglin, at the intersection of U.S. 92 and Havendale Boulevard.
Anglin's 5-year-old daughter, Jalina, was in the backseat wearing a seat belt. She was not in a booster seat or approved child restraint device, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
The investigation found the traffic control light turned steady red when the truck was about 500 feet from the stop bar at the intersection. Anglin stepped on the gas as her light turned green. She reportedly told investigators she heard a siren but thought it was far away; other cars did not proceed through the intersection as the light turned green.
Swan's truck was traveling at about 68 mph when it hit the driver's side of the Kia, the sheriff's office said. Just five seconds earlier, Swan was speeding at 105 mph, but Swan " was braking to slow down when the Kia entered into the intersection."
Anglin was traveling at about 22 mph at the time of the crash, the sheriff's office said.
"The angle of the collision caused intrusion into the engine compartment of the Kia in a direction from the front driver side corner toward the passenger side front wheel," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Jalina was taken to an area hospital but later died from her injuries.
In the weeks after the crash, family members said they wished the Auburndale police sergeant would be charged and held a news conference demanding Swan be terminated and face vehicular manslaughter.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Anglin likely violated state laws requiring a child restraint device and failure to yield to an approaching emergency vehicle with lights/sirens activated but that, "No citation is being issued to Ms. Anglin considering the tragic result of the crash."
Auburndale Police Chief Terry Storie called the incident "a terrible, tragic accident." He agreed with the findings of the Polk County Sheriff's Office and said an internal investigation into Swan is ongoing as he takes on "non-patrol duties."
Storie's full statement reads as follows:
"This was a terrible, tragic accident. My heart goes out to Ms. Anglin and the loss she and her family have experienced from the death of Jalina. On behalf of our whole department and our city, I offer my sincere sympathies and prayers to the family and all those affected. When this crash occurred, I asked that an independent investigation be conducted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and those facts and results are now available.
"Based on the completed crash investigation, Auburndale Police Sergeant Danny Swan has received a civil citation for unlawful speed (FSS 316.183 (1)).
"The PCSO decided not to issue citations to Ms. Anglin based on their investigative findings because of the tragic loss of her daughter. I agree with this decision.
"Now that the crash investigation has been completed, I can acknowledge per Florida Statute 112.533(4) that the Auburndale Police Department is conducting an internal investigation related the crash. Specifically, we are investigating (1) the allegation of unlawful speed and (2) the allegation of a violation of our policy regarding operating a police vehicle during an emergency response.
"I cannot pre-judge the outcome of this investigation, nor discuss disciplinary decisions until that review is completed. We will use the facts and findings from the PCSO report as a part of the internal investigation. Sergeant Danny Swan has been assigned to administrative, non-patrol duties since the crash. This administrative assignment will continue pending the outcome of the internal investigation."