VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A Volusia County father is calling on the Florida Highway Patrol to reopen the investigation into a 2024 crash that killed his 19-year-old daughter — and blamed her for the collision. Conflicting information in two separate troopers’ reports, obtained by News 6, is giving Kaylee Kennedy’s family reason to believe something is not right.
Darren Kennedy, a Volusia County deputy and Kaylee’s father, says he fears what could happen to other families if flawed investigations go uncorrected.
“I really worry about the future of other families that have a tragedy in their life,” Darren Kennedy said. “I don’t want to see this happen with them either, so if there’s a problem in Troop D, it needs to get corrected now.”
Kaylee Kennedy died in a head-on crash on U.S. 17 in DeLeon Springs in September 2024. The other driver was injured. The family’s attorney, Kelly Chanfrau, says two separate reports from investigators tell two very different stories about what happened.
“We want the investigation reopened and we want to know why,” Chanfrau said. “Why were there two different conclusions with these investigations?”
At the heart of the family’s concerns are direct contradictions between two official reports. An initial crash report stated that a Chevrolet Silverado drifted into Kaylee’s lane and struck her Jeep Wrangler. A later traffic homicide report reversed that conclusion, saying it was Kaylee’s Jeep that crossed into the other driver’s lane. The two reports also disagree on the exact location of the crash.
Darren Kennedy and his attorney submitted a formal request to FHP in May to reopen the case. FHP responded in June, saying it is reviewing the information — but has not used the words “reopening the case,” which is what the family is demanding. Chanfrau says they recently heard directly from investigators, and the update raised more concerns.
“They’ve tried to get a warrant, which was denied; number one and number two, they have tried to download the information from Kaylee’s car,” Chanfrau said. “Two things that have been done — that’s it.”
The family’s concerns extend beyond the contradicting reports. Documents show at least one of the troopers who investigated Kaylee’s crash is the same trooper involved in a separate case that resulted in a wrongful arrest — a case News 6 has previously reported on.
Lindsey Isaacs was arrested in connection with a crash on Interstate 4 that killed three people in October 2025. Isaacs spent 13 days in jail before her defense team proved she was not the driver. The State Attorney’s Office dropped the charges, another woman has been named as responsible, and Isaacs is now suing the troopers who investigated and arrested her.
Darren Kennedy says he believes these may not be isolated incidents.
“I don’t believe me and the other case everybody knows about are the only two with problems,” he said.
The family and attorney say they are also seeking the toxicology results of the other driver involved in Kaylee’s crash — something the reports do not include, though Kaylee’s results showed nothing in her system. Their next step, they say, is filing a lawsuit against FHP, the investigators and the other driver. FHP confirmed to News 6 it is reviewing the case but declined to comment further.