Kam K. Williams wept today as he apologized to the family of Lorrie-Ann Wiley, who was killed in an auto accident. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Kam K. Williams, 21, must still wait, however, to see what the Hawai'i Paroling Authority will set as a minimum time behind bars for killing Lorrie-Ann Wiley when he collided head-on with her car on Jan. 2, 2001.

"I would like to see him do every day of the 20 years," said Wiley's husband, David, after the sentencing. "I would consider that a fair amount of justice."

But he said he had no animosity for Williams' family.

"There were no winners in that courtroom today," he said.

Williams drank with friends at a nightclub until 4 a.m. and was driving a friend's car home when he apparently fell asleep, causing the car to drift across the center line of Kalaniana'ole Highway near Olomana Golf Course. After narrowly missing another car, he slammed into Wiley's Honda, half of which collapsed like an accordion.

Wiley, 32, had to be pried from her car.

Williams' blood alcohol level that morning was 0.201 ­ nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08. At the time, he already had a previous Driving Under the Influence conviction, although he had never had a driver's license.

In Circuit Judge Michael Town's courtroom this morning, Williams sobbed as he stood and apologized to the victim's family. A dozen people listened, including Wiley's 7-year-old daughter, Kayla.

"I am very, very sorry to your family," Williams said. "I know it seems like I just don't care but I am especially sorry for the little girl who lost her mom. I will never forget what I did. I will always be sad for it."

David Wiley, husband of Lorrie-Ann Wiley, hugs daughter Kayla, 6. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Because he was 19 the day of the collision, Williams could have been sentenced under a provision of the law for youthful offenders. Under the provision, the maximum sentence would have been eight years.

Manslaughter carries a 20-year term that is subject to minimums set by the paroling authority at a later date. Probation was also an option, but was not being considered by attorneys today.

Police almost dropped the case in January 2002 because they had no witnesses who placed Williams at the wheel of the car involved in the collision. Normally, police could have gone back to the car for fingerprints or blood evidence, but the vehicle had not been seized and had since been destroyed.

The investigation was renewed after a story in The Advertiser, leading to a new witness and an indictment, to which Williams pleaded not guilty in April.

Williams pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November.

The courtroom was packed with friends and family from both sides of the guilty plea with tears and raw emotions spilling out throughout the hearing.

Wiley had served in the Hawaii Air National Guard and was a member of its honor detail that regularly attended services for veterans. Two of her colleagues spoke today.

They also brought the flag that draped her coffin and her honor detail boots, polished and encased in a clear plastic box.

Tommy Chock, a technical sergeant in the Guard and the leader of the honor detail, told the judge about the day he buried his friend.

"It was the hardest time of my life," he said. "I have never cried at a funeral but I did at this one."

In asking the judge for a shorter sentence, Williams' mother, Georgette Mary Hiner, said her son was going to be "accountable for his actions, starting today." She looked straight at Wiley's husband, who looked straight back, and apologized for her son's "terrible decision."

"I know some of your family is very, very hurt and I wish I could take it away," she said. "But I can't."