Man gets 20 years for role in car chase

Advertiser Staff

HILO, Hawai'i — A former O'ahu man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a police chase that ended in the death of a 31-year-old mother of five.

Richard Rosario, 22, was sentenced Thursday. He had earlier pleaded no-contest to manslaughter for the Sept. 7, 2000, incident.

Police chased Rosario from Puna to Hilo before the stolen Nissan Sentra he was driving ran a red light and broadsided a Honda Accord near Prince Kuhio Plaza, killing Ellison Sweezey, who was a passenger in the Honda.

Hilo Circuit Judge Riki May Amano said Rosario will serve the sentence concurrently with a 10-year term for burglary and complete six years and eight months of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.