Chronic drunken driver’s parole revoked in 1994 case

The Hawaii Paroling Authority on Thursday revoked the parole of chronic drunken driver Kenneth Richard Leigh, 50, who was convicted of killing two passengers in his car in a 1994 traffic accident, the Kauai County prosecutor’s office said.

Leigh was convicted in August 1994 of negligent homicide, driving under the influence, driving without a license, speeding and other traffic violations regarding the Kauai crash. A judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

He was released on parole in 2007 to Maryland, where his parents live. Four years later, in May 2011, he was arrested for driving under the influence; he was convicted and sentenced to a year in jail in October.

After serving his sentence, Leigh was extradited to Hawaii for Thursday’s parole hearing.

Kauai Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho said family members of the victims in the 1994 accident submitted letters to the paroling authority urging the agency to revoke Leigh’s parole.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the sister of one of the victims wrote, "Kenneth Leigh’s history, in addition to his most recent violation, indicates that he is a danger. Please do not allow him to hurt anyone else!"

In the crash on Feb. 22, 1994, Leigh was driving at an estimated 80 mph and was legally drunk when he lost control of his car and hit a utility pole on Kuhio Highway, the prosecutor said. Two female passengers were killed, and a male passenger suffered permanent spinal injuries.

Leigh’s license had previously been revoked in New Jersey for three DUI convictions in the 1980s, and his license had been revoked on Oahu in 1993 for a DUI conviction, the prosecutor said.

Leigh’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender John Ike­naga, asked that Leigh be paroled back to Maryland to live with his mother. Regarding his 2011 conviction, Leigh said that he had gone to dinner at a friend’s house and drank punch that he did not know was spiked with alcohol, the prosecutor said.