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A 23-year-old Nanakuli man began serving a one-year jail term today for killing his father in a drunken driving crash near their home last year.
A state judge sentenced Logan Awong this morning to five years of probation for first-degree negligent homicide. Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario ordered the jail term as a condition of Awong’s probation.
“Any lesser sentence will depreciate the seriousness of the crime,” he said.
Awong was facing a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Del Rosario denied Awong’s request to serve his jail term on weekends so he can keep his job.
His boss at Island Movers, Timothy Learmont, told Awong he’ll have to submit his resignation but told him to reapply for his job when his jail term is over. Learmont said he doesn’t know if Awong’s felony conviction will prevent re-hiring him.
Awong and his father Jason Awong were drinking Jan. 23 last year when they decided to go to the store for more beer. The younger Awong got behind the wheel of a pickup truck. His father got into the front passenger seat.
Police said the pickup truck was speeding on Haleakala Avenue when it hit a mailbox then a rock wall, knocked down a utility pole, hit a fire hydrant and tree before hitting another utility pole on the other side of the roadway.
An ambulance took Jason Awong, 39, to Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition where he died the following day.
Logan Awong suffered minor injuries.
Police said he was drunk. His blood-alcohol content was 0.14, well over the 0.08 threshold for drunken driving.
“I am sorry for what I did. It was an extreme wakeup call. I lost my dad,” Awong said.
Despite losing his son in the crash, Gilmore Awong expressed only concern for his grandson.
“We’re trying to help him as much as possible. Not because we’re his grandparents but also his parents,” he said.
Awong said he and his wife adopted his grandson and three of his younger siblings when Logan was 10 years old.
Del Rosario said according to the court’s pre-sentence report, Logan Awong started drinking at a young age and his drinking companion was often his father.
