A 32-year-old Honokaa man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from a 2012 traffic collision in Hamakua that killed two women and injured several other people. ADVERTISING A 32-year-old Honokaa man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from
A 32-year-old Honokaa man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from a 2012 traffic collision in Hamakua that killed two women and injured several other people.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura set a trial date of Nov. 10 for Alfred Berdon III. He’s charged with two counts each of first-degree negligent homicide, first-degree negligent injury and second-degree negligent injury. He could be sentenced to 10 years in prison if convicted of first-degree negligent homicide.
Berdon is free on $32,000 bail, with conditions including no drugs or alcohol, random drug and alcohol testing and no possession of firearms or ammunition.
Berdon’s attorney, Michael Green, requested the court permit Berdon to travel with his family to California and Nevada between July 14-27. He said his client signed a waiver of extradition form to ensure his return.
“They’ve made those reservations; they’ve paid for ’em,” Green said. “I would’ve done this earlier. I didn’t know who (in the prosecutor’s office) was assigned the case.”
Deputy Prosecutor Jason Skier expressed misgivings to the judge about Berdon’s travel plans.
“My concern is, No. 1, it’s virtually impossible to enforce prohibitions against drug use, and it’s impossible for him to get tested while he’s on the mainland,” he said. “… And at this point, I don’t know the purpose of the trip.”
Green said Berdon is coaching a youth baseball team playing in a mainland tournament.
“We’re going to Carson City, Nevada, for the 9-and-under World Series and I’m the head coach,” added Berdon, who said his son is on the team.
Nakamura advised Green and Berdon to clear the travel plans through the Department of Public Safety’s Intake Service Center.
Police say Berdon was driving a pickup truck on Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 19) at about 4:23 p.m. Sept. 10, 2012, when he collided with a van he was attempting to pass. The van, carrying landscapers from Puna Certified Nursery returning home from a job in Waikoloa, was run off the highway and went down a 15-foot embankment at Kalopa Gulch.
Killed in the collision were 61-year-old Josefina Visaya and 54-year-old Patrocinia Cadang, both of Keaau. Marilyn Bagaoisan, Marilyn Chavez and Maria Macadangdang, all 46-year-old Keaau women, were critically injured but survived.
Cadang’s husband, 55-year-old Siduro Cadang, sustained a broken arm and broken ribs. Gina Visaya of Keaau, 23, and the niece of Josefina Visaya; 23-year-old J.R. Soriano of Keaau; and the van’s driver, 45-year-old Efren Chavez, whose wife was critically injured, all were treated and released.
Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville said in September 2012 that Berdon’s urine tested positive the day after the crash for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and oxycodone, a semi-synthetic opioid painkiller marketed as Oxycontin. He noted the test was “presumptive” and a mandatory blood sample needed to be tested by a lab.
Berdon was indicted last month by a grand jury. Prosecutor Mitch Roth declined at the time to disclose the results of Berdon’s toxicology report.
Josefina Visaya’s death was the first of two traffic calamities her family has endured. Her 66-year-old husband, Cenon Visaya of Keaau, was killed in a collision Sept. 27, 2013, a little more than a year after his wife’s death.
Eyewitnesses say Siaiku “Lucky” Aholelei lost control of his pickup truck while allegedly racing another vehicle, crossed opposing lanes of traffic on Volcano Highway (Highway 11) near the entrance of Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii campus in Keaau and ran over Cenon Visaya, who was riding a bicycle in the opposite direction on the highway’s shoulder.
Aholelei was charged with manslaughter and first-degree negligent homicide. He pleaded not guilty, but has a change of plea hearing set for 8 a.m. July 30, according to court records, and will likely plead guilty or no contest to negligent homicide.
Green, a prominent Honolulu attorney, is also Aholelei’s lawyer.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
