Family of crash victim Wiley sues driver
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
Six months after Lorrie-Ann Wiley was killed in a head-on collision outside Waimanalo, her family has filed a civil suit against the other driver, alleging that he was drinking at two bars prior to the accident even though he was underage.
Advertiser library photo • Jan. 5, 2001
The lawsuit, filed last week in Circuit Court, names as defendants Kam K. Williams, 19, of Waimanalo, Venus Nite Club and Pachinko Karaoke.
Lorrie-Ann Wiley was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 2 in Waimanalo.
Police have said that the driver of the car that struck Wiley's tested above the legal blood-alcohol limit in the hours after the Jan. 2 crash. He has not been charged in the case, but police are wrapping up their investigation and will turn over the evidence to the prosecutor's office, according to Michelle Yu, police spokeswoman.
The attorney for Wiley's family, Richard Fried Jr., said witnesses will testify that the bars kept serving drinks to Williams after he was drunk.
"This isn't a case of where a guy was sitting there quietly drinking, no one being aware of what he was doing," Fried said. "This is a case of a guy who was obviously intoxicated, getting drunker and drunker. Besides being drunk, he's a minor."
The complaint, filed June 26, said Venus Nite Club and Pachinko Karaoke knowingly sold alcohol to Williams, a minor who was intoxicated. The complaint also said Williams was negligent in driving his vehicle while intoxicated and causing the accident that led to Wiley's death.
Neither Williams nor either club responded to requests for comment.
Wiley's Honda was struck by a Chrysler that crossed the center line about 5:25 a.m. near Olomana Golf Links, according to police reports. Wiley, 32, was heading to work at Hickam Air Force Base, where she served in the Air National Guard. She died at the scene of the accident, and the other driver was taken to Castle Medical Center in critical condition.
Fried filed the case on behalf of Wiley's estate; husband, David; 5-year-old daughter, Kayla; and mother, Lorenza V. Macanas.
Fried said the family is still suffering from the loss.
"The little 5-year-old girl is motherless and the husband is still very distraught," he said. "It's a sad deal and no one's doing very well."
Wiley's mother still cries every day over the loss of her daughter. David Wiley is moving out with his daughter after living with his mother-in-law for 10 years.
"Grandma is still very much grieving," said Ben Marquez Jr., Lorrie Wiley's cousin. "She's having a real difficult time."
