Ex-policeman reportedly indicted for fatal crash
Advertiser Staff and News Reports
An O'ahu grand jury has returned a manslaughter indictment against a former Honolulu police officer involved in a fatal traffic accident last year, according to a television news report.
Clyde Arakawa was off duty when his car collided with a vehicle driven by Dana Ambrose, 19, on Oct. 7 at the intersection of Pali Highway and School Street.
Ambrose, of Hale'iwa, was killed and Arakawa, 49, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and negligent homicide. No charges were filed at the time.
In the aftermath of the accident, the Honolulu Police Department was criticized for "courtesies" that Police Chief Lee Donohue acknowledged were extended to Arakawa by officers at the crash scene.
Arakawa later retired from the police department and now lives in Oregon.
The indictment was returned earlier this week and remains sealed at the request of prosecutors, TV station KHON reported last night. Grand jury proceedings are secret and involve only the prosecution presenting evidence to the panel. If a grand jury issues an indictment, that document is made public.
The station quoted other legal documents as saying Arakawa has agreed to return to Hawai'i by Tuesday. Jim Fulton, spokesman with the prosecutor's office, would not comment last night.
Drunken drivers who cause fatal collisions are usually charged with first-degree negligent homicide, which carries a maximum 10-year term.
But City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, who presented the case to the grand jury, said in a court memorandum filed Jan. 29 that Arakawa might be charged with the more serious offense of reckless manslaughter, which requires the state to prove "conscious disregard" of the risks of conduct that causes a death.
Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The city prosecutor's office has said in court papers that Arakawa knew he had an "unexpected reaction" to alcohol and had blacked out in an incident in 1992, and therefore should be charged with reckless manslaughter.
The prosecutor's office said Arakawa knew or should have known how alcohol might affect his driving, based on that contention.
Ambrose's parents have sued Arakawa and two restaurants where he allegedly had been drinking prior to the crash.
Ambrose family attorney Rick Fried said witnesses at the intersection saw Arakawa run a red light and hit Ambrose's car, but Arakawa said in a police report that he entered the intersection on a green light.
Fried also hired an accident reconstruction expert, who he said will show that Arakawa was speeding as he slammed into Ambrose's car. Fried added last night that he believes prosecutors have similar evidence, which is why they went for the higher charge of manslaughter, rather than negligent homicide.
"I know that certainly some of the witnesses that spoke with me have talked with (prosecutors), and so if in fact it's true about an indictment, they must have the same evidence," Fried said.
More than seven hours after Arakawa's car slammed into the Honda Civic driven by Ambrose, the officer's blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.06, authorities said. A driver with a 0.08 blood-alcohol level is considered legally drunk.
On the night of the accident, the police union notified a lawyer, who proceeded to the crash scene, and Arakawa walked freely around the accident scene, talking with officers.
