Posted on: Friday, December 6, 2002

DUI crash victim's family gets $1 million from bars

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer

The family of a Waimanalo woman killed in a head-on collision with a car driven by drunken teenager nearly two years ago has settled a civil lawsuit for $1 million against two Honolulu bars that served alcohol to the youth.

In a case that was nearly dropped for lack of evidence, Kam K. Williams, 21, of Waimanalo pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month in the Jan. 2, 2001, crash that killed Lorrie-Ann Wiley, 32.

Richard Fried Jr., attorney for Wiley's family, said the bars — Venus Nite Club and Pachinko Karaoke — apparently never asked to see Williams' identification, and they served alcohol to the teen after he was already drunk.

Witnesses said Williams drank at the Venus Nite Club and later at Pachinko Karaoke until the early morning of Jan. 2. Less than two hours after he left Pachinko, the car he was driving crossed the center line on Kalaniana'ole Highway at the entrance to Olomana Golf Links and struck Wiley's vehicle. At the time, Williams' driver's license was suspended from a previous drunk driving charge.

In announcing the settlement yesterday, Fried said the $1 million will come from an insurance policy on the bars, both of which are owned by Doo Sun Yoo. Yoo also agreed to contribute $5,000.

Yoo and his attorney could not be reached for comment.

"This was the only realistic source of recovery," Fried said. "The bars have no assets and only a short-term lease at their locations. The owner, Mr. Yoo, appears to have no appreciable assets," he said.

Williams also has no assets, Fried said.

The settlement will be set up in an annuity, an investment that pays out fixed payments over its lifetime, he said. The Wileys should get two to three times the amount because it will be invested and it will be tax free, Fried said.

The money will be used to educate Wiley's daughter, Kayla, 7; to help her husband, David, 43, who has been unemployed since after the accident; and to help her mother, Lorenza Macanas, 64. Wiley is also survived by a brother, Robert Rudy Macanas.

Witnesses said Williams entered Venus about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 1 and had three Long Island iced teas, each containing about 5 ounces of liquor, Fried said. Williams then went to Pachinko and was there drinking until 4 a.m., Fried said.

In a statement, Williams admitted drinking at the two bars until early morning.

Shortly after the crash, a test showed his blood alcohol level to be 0.201, or two and a half times the legal limit, his attorney in the criminal case told the judge when Williams pleaded guilty last month. Under state law, a person with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher is deemed to be driving under the influence of alcohol.

"He was fairly intoxicated at the bar," lawyer Jonathan Burge said in court in November. "He doesn't remember anything but driving there and waking up in the hospital."

Police analysis of the collision put Williams' speed at no less than 65 mph — 30 mph over the speed limit. Wiley's speed was estimated at 26 mph, Fried said.

Williams, now 21, will be sentenced Jan. 24. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years but is expected to ask to be treated as a youthful offender, thereby qualifying for a lesser sentence.

David Wiley, who now lives in Kane'ohe, said bars should be held criminally accountable when their patrons drink too much, go out and drive and kill someone.

"I think judges could deter future DUI fatalities if they sentence these DUI offenders that are involved in fatalities to the maximum sentence permitted by law," David Wiley said.

The criminal case nearly fell apart a year after the accident because police were unable to place Williams behind the wheel of the Chrysler. Williams was outside the vehicle when police and the ambulance arrived at the scene of the crash. The automobile he was driving, which could have revealed vital evidence, was destroyed soon after the accident.

Witnesses stepped forward after an Advertiser story about the case on the verge of being dropped because of lack of evidence.

The witnesses were crucial to both the criminal and civil cases, said David Wiley, and yesterday he thanked them and called them heroes.

David Wiley said he copes with life one day at a time. He spends his days caring for his daughter and helping her with her school work.

"That gets me through the hard times," he said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.