No jail time for driver in fatal crash
By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer
A Honolulu man who was driving the van that struck and killed one girl and severely injured two others on a sidewalk along Kamehameha IV Road in August 2000 was placed on conditions similar to probation for one year yesterday, but received no jail time.
Ryan Miguel was driving a van belonging to the air-conditioning repair firm he worked for when it jumped a curb, striking Nancy Phongsavath, 12, and two other girls as they walked home from school.
Nancy Phongsavath, 12, and her family moved to Hawai'i from Laos in 1980.
Phongsavath died of injuries several hours later and the two other girls were hospitalized in critical condition. One remains in a coma and the other has recovered from her injuries.
The dead girl's parents fled from Laos in 1980 to escape communism. They were living in the Kamehameha IV public housing project with five other children when their daughter was killed.
Miguel pleaded no contest Sept. 24 to a misdemeanor negligent homicide charge. District Court Judge Derrick Chan yesterday agreed to defer accepting Miguel's no contest plea for one year, meaning if Miguel stays out of trouble and abides by terms similar to probation imposed by Chan, he will have no criminal record.
Police have said that speed and alcohol were not contributing factors in the accident and that Miguel was distracted seconds before the van he was driving swerved off the road and struck the three girls.
Yesterday, Miguel tearfully apologized to the dead girl's family members although they did not attend the sentencing.
City Deputy Prosecutor Peter Marrack asked for a year in jail saying there should be consequences whenever a driver is at fault in a fatal accident.
Chan, however, granted the deferral sought by Miguel's lawyer, Howard Luke. Luke said Miguel has no criminal record, has a solid work record and has a son and a stepdaughter of his own.
