A 72-year-old Kailua woman is facing up to five years in prison at her sentencing Tuesday for running over and killing a 68-year-old Makiki woman earlier this year.
Julianne Nowell pleaded no contest to second-degree negligent homicide in August for killing Edna Funayama on Jan. 3.
Her attorney, Howard Luke, filed a motion for a deferred acceptance of a no contest plea, which means the charge would be wiped from her record if she stays out of trouble for a certain amount of time.
Nowell will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi, who will also decide whether to grant the motion.
Funayama’s niece, Kimberly Funayama Hall, said she is upset by the possibility of the charge being erased from Nowell’s record and doesn’t want Nowell to ever drive again.
"Our family thinks that is the most painful thing, that … it disappears from her record," she said. "That is unfair because it leaves the safety of other people in jeopardy when her insurance doesn’t see it."
She also hoped for jail time for Nowell, adding: "My aunt died a painful death."
According to court documents, a judge in August ordered Nowell to surrender her license until the resolution of the case.
In a motion requesting her license be suspended, Deputy Prosecutor Kurt Nakamatsu said Nowell poses a danger to the community because of her driving and didn’t stop for 100 feet after hitting Funayama.
A police report said Nowell claimed she didn’t see Funayama while turning left onto Wilder Avenue from Makiki Street. She told officers several times that Funayama was wearing dark clothing and said as a retired nurse she was used to helping people, not hurting them.
Police said Funayama was walking in the crosswalk with the pedestrian signal when she was hit on a clear, sunny day. Her death was the first traffic fatality of the year on Oahu.
Witnesses said Funayama landed on the hood of Nowell’s 2005 Ford Explorer and rolled onto the street, where she was slowly run over by the vehicle’s front and rear tires. One witness said he was honking his horn to try to get the driver to stop.
Nowell, who had a clean driving record before the crash, told police she noticed Funayama only when she appeared on the hood and didn’t explain why she didn’t see Funayama, the report said.
Nowell had a 11⁄2-year-old boy with her in the SUV, the report noted.
Hall said her aunt was a spiritual, independent person who enjoyed helping others and taking care of her health. Funayama, who didn’t drive, was returning from the YWCA by bus when she was hit.
Hall, a former California public defender, said family members from the mainland and Japan were flying to Hawaii to attend the sentencing.
She said her aunt’s death has been a struggle for the family and Funayama’s long-time boyfriend, Hal Beagle.
Beagle, 80, said Funayama used to help care for him, but he had to go through about 50 cancer treatments without her this year.
He said he’s found forgiveness for the driver and isn’t seeking jail time, but wants her to donate to Funayama’s nondenominational church, the Church of Keauhou.
"She’s going to have to carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life," he said. "I’m not going to hold onto any more anger or resentment about this whole situation because it’ll just kill me."
Beagle wept as he recalled Funayama, his companion of 33 years.
"She was everything to me," Beagle said. "Sometimes it’s really hard. Even now."
