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A 20-year-old Waipahu man charged with manslaughter in connection with an alleged drunken driving freeway crash is free on $50,000 bail following his arrest Thursday.
Police said Kyer Valeros was drunk when the minivan he was driving flipped on the H-1 freeway on Feb. 4, 2011. He is accused of manslaughter in the death of passenger Ervin Yanuaria, 20, of Waipahu and second-degree assault for injuries to another passenger.
An Oahu grand jury indicted him this month on both offenses.
Deputy Prosecutor Vickie Kapp said Valeros drank at least six beers and 10 shots of liquor before getting behind the wheel of a Toyota Sienna van. Kapp said Thursday that friends tried to take the car keys from Valeros before he got into the van to drive to a party in Waikiki.
The van hit an embankment on the H-1 freeway in Aiea, flipped several times and came to rest under the Kaonohi Street overpass. Kapp said police estimate the van was traveling 90 mph.
Valeros’ blood alcohol content was 0.17, more than twice the legal threshold for drunken driving, Kapp said.
Yanuaria, the front-seat passenger, was thrown from the van, Kapp said. He was taken in extremely critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center, where he died. Another passenger, 20, was taken to Queen’s in serious condition.
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