Driver in fatal accident pleads no contest
An alleged drunken driver whose minivan crashed on the H-1 freeway in Aiea last year, killing one of his passengers and injuring five others, pleaded no contest in state court Tuesday to manslaughter and assault.
Kyer Valeros, 20, faces a maximum 20-year prison term for the manslaughter and five years for the assault at his sentencing in December.
Ervin Yanuara, 20, of Waipahu died Feb. 4, 2011, after the Toyota Sienna that Valeros was driving hit an embankment and flipped several times near the Kaonohi Street overpass.
Yanuara was the front-seat passenger. He and Valeros were thrown from the vehicle. Five other passengers were injured.
The state says Valeros’ blood alcohol content was 0.17, more than twice the legal threshold for drunken driving, and that police estimate the van was traveling 90 mph when it hit the embankment.
Valeros was 19 years old at the time of the crash, too young to legally drink alcohol.
Man injured in Waipahu crash Sunday dies
Police said the man whose vehicle crashed near the Waipahu "banana patch" on Sunday died Tuesday night.
Police said the motorist, a man in his 20s, was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition Sunday.
Police said the man was traveling west on Farrington Highway when his vehicle went off the roadway, hit a tree stump and stopped in a ditch at about 4:20 a.m.
Speeding and alcohol appeared to be factors in the crash, police said.
The crash prompted police to close Farrington Highway near Sam’s Club until about 6:30 a.m.
