Kyer Valeros drank at least six beers and 10 shots of a liqueur before getting behind the wheel of a minivan that flipped over on the H-1 freeway in Aiea last February, killing one of his six passengers and injuring at least one other passenger, city deputy prosecutor Vickie Kapp said last week.
An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging Valeros, 20, of Waipahu with manslaughter for the Feb. 4, 2011, death of Ervin Yanuara, 20, of Waipahu. The grand jury also charged Valeros with second-degree assault for injuries suffered by another passenger.
Police said Valeros was driving a Toyota Sienna van toward Honolulu when the vehicle hit an embankment, flipped several times and came to rest under the Kaonohi Street overpass.
Valeros and Yanuara, the front-seat passenger, were thrown from the van, Kapp said.
An ambulance took Yanuara to the Queen’s Medical Center in extremely critical condition. He died at the hospital. Another passenger, 20, was taken to Queen’s in serious condition. Four other passengers — ages 18, 19, 20 and 20 — were taken to Kaiser Medical Center in serious condition.
Police said it appeared that none of the van’s occupants, all males, were wearing seat belts.
Kapp said Thursday that friends tried to take the car keys from Valeros before he got behind the wheel of the van to drive to a party in Waikiki.
She said police estimate the van was traveling 90 mph when it hit the embankment. Valeros’ blood alcohol content was 0.17, more than twice the legal threshold for drunken driving, Kapp said.
