Prosecutor error ends woman’s homicide case

A vehicular homicide case against a 20-year-old Lihue woman was dismissed Friday in Kauai Circuit Court.

Judge Kathleen Wata­nabe said prosecutor error gave her no other option, the Garden Island reports.

The case was dismissed "without prejudice," meaning the prosecutor can bring new charges. "What happened today was based on a procedural issue and doesn’t affect the viability of the case," said Prosecutor Justin Kollar.

Brittney Lehua Kane was charged with manslaughter, first-degree negligent injury and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Defense attorney Rosa Flores filed the motion to dismiss the case, saying the prosecution failed to file the appropriate court orders moving the case from Family Court.

Kane, then 16, allegedly left an underage drinking party on Sept. 11, 2011, ran off Kuhio Highway, hit a tree and flipped. One of her two juvenile passengers was killed, and the other was seriously injured.

18 temblors hit Hawaii island during weekend

Eighteen earthquakes were strong enough to be pinpointed beneath Kilauea Volcano on Saturday and Sunday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

One was within the Kao­iki Pali area, six were beneath the summit caldera, three were south of the caldera, three were within the upper east rift zone, two deep quakes were northeast of the summit and three were on the south flank.

The lava lake in Hale­mau­mau Crater kept rising Sunday to within 138 feet of the crater floor. The Kahaualea 2 flow remained active in the middle east rift zone.