Video shows moment of impact from deadly crash involving Orlando police officer

WESH 2 Investigates has exclusively obtained the street-camera video showing the crash with an Orlando police officer that killed a beloved 92-year-old grandmother.Prosecutors decided not to charge the officer, but the initial Orlando Police crash report found him at fault for the accident that led to the death of Milagros Ortiz.The video is difficult to watch, but Ortiz’s family shared it with WESH 2 Investigates to show the community what exactly happened. While Orlando police Chief Eric Smith would not sit down for an interview Thursday, he spoke publicly this week about this case. >>Watch below: Traffic camera shows crash with Orlando police officer that killed Milagros OrtizStreet-camera video shows emergency lights turn off before impactMillie Ortiz was in the passenger seat of a Jeep Patriot being driven home by a friend from her weekly bingo game in the early morning of Sunday, Jan. 18. Orlando police Officer Andrew McKuhen was behind the wheel of a marked 2019 Ford Explorer.At 1:51 a.m., McKuhen was stopped at the red light on Hoffner Avenue, a few miles north of Orlando International Airport. The video shows the emergency lights turn on as the police SUV enters the intersection with Semoran Boulevard, but then they turn off moments before impact.Orlando police chief has yet to speak with WESH 2 Investigates about this death investigation Since Ortiz’s family contacted WESH 2 Investigates, there have been multiple attempts to interview Orlando police Chief Eric Smith.Shortly after Ortiz passed away, Smith avoided our camera at City Hall when WESH 2 Investigates wanted to find out if the officer was on duty during the accident.City Commissioner Tony Ortiz revealed the chief informed him that Officer McKuhen was on duty. In response to yet another interview request on Thursday, an Orlando police spokesperson replied, "At this time, Chief Smith is not available for an interview.”However, this week Smith did speak for the first time about the investigation into Ortiz’s death on a local podcast, "The Patrick Carr Show."Chief tells podcast host this crash is prompting changes to fleet maintenance"From what we can gather, the vehicle had a failure," Smith said on the podcast.When the State Attorney’s Office in Orange County closed this case with no charges in late April, Traffic Homicide Unit Chief Brian C. Hagner wrote, “there is no evidence that McKuhen intentionally turned off the emergency lights.”But the prosecutor’s memo said, “Maintenance records for McKuhen's vehicle show that there was a history of issues reported that involve the operation of the lights and sirens."The chief addressed those vehicle issues on the podcast. “The vehicle had been wrecked prior to him when he came on the department,” Smith told Patrick Carr. “It’s one of our older vehicles. He had brought it in three times saying, 'Hey, my lights aren't working.'"The chief explained the city of Orlando is responsible for the maintenance of police vehicles, but he added this deadly crash is prompting changes to how the department inspects its entire fleet. "We are looking and the city has looked at getting rid of all of our vehicles that are older than six years and we're looking into that process now,” Smith said. “Part of it is technology. These vehicles are very technical and we should be inspecting them, which is- police is going to start doing now."State attorney determines accident wasn’t reckless enough for prosecutionOfficer McKuhen’s attorney told investigators he was attempting to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle that made an illegal U-turn on the other side of the Hoffner Avenue and Semoran Boulevard intersection.According to the prosecutor’s report, investigators found the police SUV hit 32 mph at the time of the collision.“He didn't zoom through the intersection,” Smith said. “He was slow crawling through." The prosecutor’s memo said a nearby 7-Eleven camera captured the illegal U-turn, but the State Attorney’s Office denied our request for that video. Ortiz’s daughters told WESH 2 Investigates they believed McKuhen should have been charged with vehicular homicide."There is no evidence that McKuhen drove his vehicle into the intersection in the willful or wanton manner necessary for a finding that he was driving in a reckless manner," Hanger wrote in his case disposition memo.The Ortiz family is still in search of accountability "The Ortiz family is broken,” Judy Santiago said. “Our hearts are broken." WESH 2 Investigates spoke with Ortiz’s daughter after informing her about the decision to not charge the officer. "They are here to protect and serve us,” Santiago said. “Not saying that he did it maliciously, but still there has to be accountability."Chief Smith said on the podcast the internal affairs investigation is still pending. He also revealed for the first time that McKuhen was injured in the crash and only recently returned to work."So, my heart goes out to the family, and I know it’s a great loss,” Chief Smith said. “It’s a tragedy."Millie Ortiz is survived by her three children, 10 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. Her third great-great-grandchild was born after her death. "I love you all and I think we should do this more often,” Ortiz said in a cellphone video shared with WESH 2 Investigates. “Get together, that's what we're family for."