Stephen Kaufmann Death – The fatal accident in Farmington earlier this month involved a driver who was traveling at a speed exceeding 100 mph on a city street and may have been under the influence of alcohol, as per the police report. The collision on Broyles Street led to three fatalities and one injury, as reported by the Farmington police department.
Stephen Kaufmann, aged 40 and from Fayetteville, was driving a white Acura at a high speed heading south on North Broyles Street around 7:15 a.m. on April 18, according to a statement from the Police Department. The Acura veered across the center line into the northbound lane and collided head-on with a white Chevrolet SUV.
Kaufmann and his passenger, identified as a student at Farmington Junior High School, lost their lives in the crash, as confirmed by Lt. Justin Collins of the Farmington police. Jennifer Kelley, aged 44 and from Farmington, the driver of the Chevrolet, was transported to a local hospital where she later passed away, Collins mentioned.
A minor who was a passenger in the Chevrolet sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital by Central EMS. Farmington Fire Chief Bill Hellard stated that firefighters had to extricate both victims from the Acura and Kelley from the Chevrolet.
The accident took place in a 30-mph zone, close to Jerry Pop Williams Elementary School. The police department released the findings of their investigation into the fatal crash on Friday.
“The investigation has concluded that the main cause of the accident was the excessive speed of the white Acura driven by Stephen Kaufmann,” as stated in a post on the Farmington police Facebook page. “Data from the ‘black box’ of both vehicles, the Acura and the Chevrolet Tahoe, revealed that at the time of impact, Kaufmann was driving at 102 mph southbound on North Broyles Street, which is a designated 30 mph zone.”
Police mentioned that several contributing factors, including the possibility of intoxication, have been identified. “A rapid drug screening urinalysis conducted at the time of Kaufmann’s death revealed.”
