The family of a 16-year-old Hilo High School junior who died after being struck as a pedestrian by an on-duty Hawaii Police Department officer driving a blue-and-white police cruiser is suing the department and the officer.
Hilo attorney Hannah McKee filed the civil complaint May 21 in Hilo Circuit Court on behalf of Stan Mwarey, Asuncion Mwarey and Wilfred “Waion” Prens. They are, respectively, the older brother, mother and father of Samuel “Sammy” Mwarey, who was struck at about 10:24 p.m. Jan. 5 on Kapiolani Street by a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria sedan driven by Officer Nicole Kanaka‘ole-Ioane, a Hilo patrol officer with 18 years in the department.
Mwarey died of his injuries at 12:16 p.m. Jan. 8 at Hilo Medical Center.
According to court records, both HPD and Kanaka‘ole-Ioane acknowledged they had been served with the lawsuit — which is seeking unspecified monetary damages, medical and burial fees and attorney fees and costs.
The case has been assigned to Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota, who has not scheduled any court dates.
The suit claims Kanaka‘ole-Ioane drove in a negligent manner when the collision occurred by “being inattentive, failing to keep a safe look out (and) failing to maintain control of her vehicle.”
The litigation also alleges that Sammy Mwarey was “in the bicycle lane” of Kapiolani Street between the YMCA and Hawaii Care Choices on his skateboard when Kanaka‘ole-Ioane struck him “suddenly and without warning.”
According to the lawsuit, the teen “suffered severe, catastrophic injuries upon impact, required life support and died … as a direct result of this accident.” It further claims Kanaka‘ole-Ioane’s actions “were an actual and proximate cause of the collision.”
Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz recently told the Tribune-Herald Kanaka‘ole-Ioane had been cleared of any wrongdoing by an “independent crash reconstruction” by a third-party contractor, Mills Consulting, as well as an administrative review by the Office of Professional Standards, the department’s internal affairs unit.
Moszkowicz said there were no intoxicants found in Kanaka‘ole-Ioane’s system, and her blood-alcohol content was zero.
Kanaka‘ole-Ioane has returned to regular duty, Moszkowicz said.
According to Moszkowicz, the teen pedestrian was found to have a 0.19% blood-alcohol content, almost 2.5 times the legal threshold for intoxication, and that cannabinoids — which are associated with marijuana and/or cannabis concentrates — also were found in his system.
Moszkowicz said that under the conditions as they existed at the time of the collision, “the average recognition distance for someone traveling at the speed limit would be 75 feet for them to see the person.”
A statement by McKee on Monday called the police assessment of the incident “a lie.”
“We have conducted an investigation into this incident, including a biologic forensics expert, and have determined that at the time of the accident, in like conditions, a person is visible on Kapiolani Street at the approximate location where Sammy was struck, in dark clothing, from well over 75 feet away,” McKee said.
The initial police media release about the crash said the teen “was wearing dark clothing and … was walking in the middle of the roadway and not in a marked crosswalk.”
Those details are being characterized by McKee as “not accurate.”
“When this accident occurred, Sammy was riding his skateboard toward Lanikaula Street, moving away from the officer,” McKee said. “While skateboarding, Sammy stayed within the confines of the bicycle lane. The police calculation fails to take this into account. Sammy was wearing pants with reflective stripes on the side as well as white tennis shoes.
“We are concerned with the manner in which this incident is being investigated. It appears that the public release of these so-called facts is an attempt to prejudice this case prior to trial.”
Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Strance, the county’s chief civil attorney, on Monday said her office “does not comment on ongoing litigation.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
