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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Saturday, December 13, 2003

Investigators still unsure which brother was driver

Advertiser Staff

Honolulu police traffic investigators said yesterday they were still trying to determine who was driving a Nissan Altima that was involved in a head-on collision Monday night that killed four people in Makaha.

The four victims — Tina Vaesa'u, 18, Christopher Tacut, 21, Joshua Mendoza, 20, and Verna Leina'ala Eli, 24 — were in the Nissan. Two people in an SUV that was involved in the accident are recovering from their injuries.

Police initially said that Mendoza was the driver of the Altima, although yesterday they said they could not confirm who was driving. Talofaga "Talo" Uini, the lone survivor in the vehicle, said that the car was driven by Tacut.

The city medical examiner's office yesterday said that Tacut had a blood-alcohol level of 0.055, while his brother, Mendoza, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.121. 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.

State law also prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from consuming alcohol.