Driver in '01 crash could get 20 years
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Nicholas Tudisco, accused of racing on the H-1 Freeway before his car slammed into a van, killing a schoolteacher, yesterday told a court he would no longer fight a manslaughter charge against him.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
Tudisco's no-contest plea in the death of Elizabeth Kekoa more than three years ago ends a case that focused intense attention on the problem of street racing, spurred the Legislature to action and to this day serves as a reminder for law enforcement.
Ricky and Deborah Davis, left, and Willie Davis, relatives of Elizabeth Kekoa, were in the courtroom yesterday when Nick Tudisco entered a plea of no contest in the traffic death of Kekoa in August 2001. Tudisco, 21, had been accused of racing at the time of the crash.
After the court hearing, Willie Davis, Kekoa's brother, said it is still very difficult to speak about the tragedy. His sister was 58 when she was killed Aug. 26, 2001.
"It is a very emotional moment for the family. This brings back memories of three years ago on that fateful morning," he said.
Monica Des Jarlais, principal at Holy Trinity School, where Kekoa taught, said she will have students write letters that reflect the school and community's sadness at the loss of Kekoa's life. The letters will be admitted in court at Tudisco's sentencing.
"We want to make sure that he understands he took away someone precious," she said.
In the courtroom yesterday, Tudisco was stoic, and spoke only once, saying "Yes," when Circuit Court Judge Karl Sakamoto asked if he understood the plea that was entered on his behalf by his attorney.
Prosecutors said Tudisco, 21, faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Sentencing is set for March 1.
"We are trying to send a message," Deputy City Prosecutor Kevin Takata said. "He was driving too fast, he was driving over 100 miles per hour, he was driving too furious and he took someone's life. Street racing is a crime, not a sport."
Tudisco's attorney, Michael Green, said he will try to take advantage of the state's "youthful offender" sentencing guidelines. If the judge allows it, Tudisco could face a maximum of eight years in prison because he is younger than 22 years of age, the cutoff.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
The minimum sentence as a youthful offender is 10 years of probation and one year in jail.
Sentencing for Nick Tudisco in the death of Elizabeth Kekoa is set for March 1.
A no-contest plea means the defendant will not continue defending himself against a criminal charge, but does not admit guilt.
Green said at no time has Tudisco denied racing or driving almost 100 mph that morning. Green said he does not think Tudisco should get probation, but he also does not think he should do anything close to the maximum sentence.
"Everything he's planned for his life is gone and a fine member of the community is dead," Green said yesterday, speaking on behalf of Tudisco and his father, Michael, who declined comment. "There are losses on both sides. He (Tudisco) has always accepted responsibility for this. I do not think that 30 seconds of his life should be the nail in the coffin for spending the rest of his life in jail."
Police crackdown
Immediately after the crash, there was a brief police crackdown on speeders along O'ahu roads, and in the three years since the accident, police have ramped up enforcement with special speeding programs in certain O'ahu patrol districts where racing and reckless driving appears to be especially prevalent.
State lawmakers ultimately passed an anti-racing bill following months of debate about how to deal with street racers.
The law calls for a driver who receives a third conviction of racing within five years to forfeit his vehicle and lose the right to drive for up to three years. The vehicle can only be forfeited if the offending driver owns it and it has been used in all three offenses. A judge has the discretion on whether or not to apply the punishment.
A first conviction could bring a maximum fine of $2,000 and up to one-year imprisonment for exceeding the posted speed limit by 30-mph or more. Previously, the fine was $500 and six months in jail. A second conviction could bring the same penalties, plus a one-year license suspension after any jail time, if the conviction occurs within five years of the first conviction.
Racing suspected
Kekoa was a passenger in a Ford Aerostar van when it was struck by a car on the freeway near Kaimuki. Police said the car, a Honda Prelude, was believed to be speeding and possibly racing. Kekoa's husband, Wally, driver of the van, and mother, Rose Davis, were also injured in the crash.
Police arrested Tudisco, the Honda's driver, who was 18 at the time, on suspicion of second-degree negligent homicide, but released him pending further investigation. Tudisco was indicted by an O'ahu grand jury in January on a charge of manslaughter.
Kekoa
City prosecutors have said Tudisco was racing at more than 100 mph on the H-1 when he lost control of his car, struck the center barrier and crashed into Kekoa's van. At the time of the indictment, City Deputy Prosecutor Sharlene Tom told a state judge that Tudisco admitted to police investigators at the accident scene that he was racing another car before he hit Kekoa's van.
Green said Tudisco is one credit away from graduating from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo with a degree in business. Green said Tudisco will walk with his class in May and complete his coursework by August.
The court had granted Tudisco permission to continue his education while his case was pending. In April, Tudisco settled a civil suit brought against him by Kekoa's family.
No overall strategy
Police have scrambled to combat street racing and have acknowledged that it is difficult to get a handle on.
About 50 of nearly 2,000 Honolulu police officers are specifically assigned to catch speeders and racers, but the department does not have an overall islandwide strategy to fight the crimes.
All officers are responsible for enforcing traffic laws, police said.
"All of the patrol districts, since the Tudisco case, and there have been other tragedies, are all keenly aware of the problem of excessive speeding and are doing all that they can to get their personnel out there and do all the speeding enforcement they can," said Maj. Doug Miller, head of HPD's Traffic Division. "It's definitely something that we still need to keep in focus. It is still a problem. It can be tough for us to always have a real good handle on whether or not it is improving much."
Miller said only an objective, in-depth study would reveal exactly how much of a problem O'ahu has.
"I would like to think that one measure of efforts to handle excessive speeding is the fatal count, which is down this year," he said.
So far this year, there have been 55 fatal accidents on O'ahu compared with 72 at this time last year and 61 in 2002.
"The department is still very much concerned about excessive speeding and we will keep it at the forefront of our enforcement efforts along with impaired driving, and I don't see that changing," he said.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
