Posted on: Saturday, December 11, 2004

Girl Scouts, insurer sued in fatal crash

Advertiser Staff

Relatives of a Honolulu motorcycle officer and a 10-year-old Girl Scout killed in a chain-reaction collision near Honokai Hale last year filed a lawsuit yesterday against against the Girl Scout Council of Hawai'i and an insurance company.

Officer Ryan Goto, 35, and Alacia Williams were killed in the crash July 23 last year.

Motorcycle officers David Bega and Paul Javier, who were injured, also joined in filing the lawsuit.

Williams was in a car that swerved to avoid a cardboard box, then was rear-ended by another car, causing it to cross the median and into the path of Goto and four other motorcycle officers, police said.

The lawsuit said Williams was in a car driven by her mother, Karin, a Girl Scout troop leader who was driving her daughter and other Girl Scouts to an official Girl Scout function.

Although the mother is also joining in filing the lawsuit, the suit said some of the other plaintiffs alleged that the collision was caused by her negligence. But First Insurance Company of Hawai'i Ltd., which issued a motor vehicle liability policy to the Girl Scout Council, has denied any liability coverage, the suit said.

The lawsuit asks that the court declare that the insurance policy covers any liability by Karin Williams and the Girl Scout Council.

Girl Scout Council and First Insurance officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.