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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, August 6, 2005

Motorist in fatal crash claims tires were at fault

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

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HILO, Hawai'i — A motorist accused of driving while intoxicated and causing a Big Island crash that killed two people in 2003 is suing the owner of a service station that allegedly sold her the tires for her car.

Ana T. Dominguez said in a Hilo Circuit Court lawsuit filed last week that the tires caused her car to hydroplane on wet pavement and cross the center line of Route 11 in Kea'au, triggering a four-car accident.

A Big Island grand jury last year indicted Dominguez for two counts of first-degree negligent homicide in the deaths of Conchita Tenorio, 36, and Loreto Tenorio Jr., 33, who were killed in the crash. According to the indictment, Dominguez was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

Dominguez was also charged with first-degree negligent injury for causing injuries to Jefferson Retundo, and second-degree negligent injury for injuries suffered by Jayleen Reyes. Trial on all the charges is scheduled for Sept. 6.

Dominguez was thrown from her vehicle during the crash just south of the entrance to Kamehameha Schools' Kea'au campus on Aug. 20, 2003, and she suffered severe injuries, according to the suit.

Conchita Tenorio and Loreto Tenorio, of Kurtistown, were the driver and front passenger of a 1993 Subaru headed in the opposite direction.

Police said Dominguez's 1999 Mazda pickup was traveling north when it crossed the centerline and struck the southbound Subaru. The Mazda truck then struck a white 1994 Nissan two-door, and debris from the impact struck a fourth car.

Police have said heavy rainfall at the time was a factor.

The suit by Dominguez names Richard J. Weiser Jr. and his company, K.A.R. Lube-Plus, and also names KHI Inc., which operates Bayside Chevron Service in Hilo.

The suit says Weiser sold Dominguez two new front tires that were "unfit for their intended use" and were dangerous. The suit says the tires were "a foreseeable and proximate cause" of the crash. The vehicle also was passed in a safety inspection despite the problems with the tires, the suit says.

The suit accuses Weiser and the companies of negligence and unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Weiser and the owner of Bayside Chevron could not be reached for comment.