Man gets 20-year term for fatal Waimanalo crash
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Twelve months ago, police told David Wiley they did not have enough evidence to charge the Waimanalo man suspected of killing his wife in a drunken-driving collision.
Kam Williams apologizes to the family of Lorrie-Ann Wiley, the victim of a drunken-driving collision on Jan. 2, 2001. The investigation into the accident was renewed only after new witnesses came forward.
But yesterday, in a courtroom packed with people and emotion, Wiley listened as Kam K. Williams received a 20-year sentence for manslaughter in the death of Lorrie-Ann Wiley.
Williams, 21, must wait, however, to see what the Hawai'i Paroling Authority will set as a minimum time behind bars for the head-on collision that occurred Jan. 2, 2001. Williams pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November.
"I would like to see him do every day of the 20 years," David Wiley said 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," 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 0.20, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08. At the time, he had a previous driving-under-the-influence conviction, although he had never had a driver's license.
In Circuit Judge Michael Town's courtroom, Williams sobbed as he stood and apologized to the victim's family. A dozen people, including Wiley's 7-year-old daughter, Kayla, listened.
"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."
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Police almost dropped the case in January 2002 because they had no witnesses that 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.
David Wiley, who lost his wife in a drunken-driving collision, comforts his daughter Kayla.
The investigation was renewed following a story in The Advertiser, leading to a new witness and an indictment, to which Williams pleaded not guilty in April.
The courtroom was packed with friends and family of both Wiley and Williams, with tears and emotions spilling out.
Wiley had served in the Hawai'i Air National Guard and was a member of its honor detail that regularly attended funeral services for veterans. Two of her colleagues spoke.
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.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It was the hardest time of my life," he said. "I have never cried at a funeral, but I did at this one."
Georgette Mary Hiner, mother of Kam Williams, apologizes in court to the family of Lorrie-Ann Wiley, who was killed by Williams in a drunken-driving accident near Olomana Golf Course on Jan. 2, 2001.
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.
The parole board will set the minimum sometime in the next four to six months. The board set nine minimum terms for manslaughter cases in fiscal year 2002 with an average of 12.56 years.
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."
