A 36-year-old woman is facing additional charges in connection with December’s deadly crash in Hauula that killed a 61-year-old Oregon man.
Vika F. Unga was charged Wednesday with second-degree negligent homicide in the death of Frederick Aalmo of Portland. She also was charged with second-degree negligent injury involving a 55-year-old woman who was injured in the same crash.
A $25,000 bench warrant has been issued for Unga’s arrest.
She remained free after posting bail in December when she was charged with two crimes related to the crash. She was charged with accidents involving death or serious bodily injury and accidents involving substantial bodily injury. Unga made her initial court appearance in District Court a week after the crash.
The state Attorney General’s Office took over the case because of a conflict of interest at the prosecutor’s office where a relative of Unga’s is employed.
Upon further review the state also charged Unga with negligent homicide and negligent injury. Dana Viola, spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office, declined to go into detail on why additional charges were made. “There was a basis for the charges. … We wouldn’t be charging her with additional charges if there was no basis,” she said.
Accidents involving death or serious bodily injury, a Class B felony, carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. The charge carries the same penalties as first-degree negligent homicide.
Accidents involving substantial bodily injury and second-degree negligent homicide, both Class C felonies, each carry penalties of up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Second-degree negligent injury, a misdemeanor, is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $2,000 fine.
At about 2 p.m. Dec. 23, police said, Unga was operating a Ford Explorer on Kamehameha Highway when the vehicle, for unknown reasons, crossed the centerline and slammed into a bus stop on the opposite side of the road.
The vehicle struck a couple who were sitting at the bus stop fronting the Hauula Shopping Center. Aalmo was transported in critical condition to Kahuku Hospital where he died. The woman was transported in serious condition to The Queen’s Medical Center.
Police said Unga fled the scene after the crash. Almost five hours later she turned herself in at the Kahuku Police Station.
David M. Kinikini, 34, who police said was a passenger in the SUV at the time of the crash, was charged with second-degree hindering prosecution. The offense carries the same penalties as second-degree negligent injury.
In a news release, state Attorney General Doug Chin said, “If you get into a car accident, don’t cover it up.”
In 2007 Unga was found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, a petty misdemeanor, and driving without a license, a misdemeanor.
In 2008 Kinikini was found guilty on two separate occasions for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, according to his criminal record.
Correction: David M. Kinikini, who was charged with second-degree hindering prosecution in connection with the deadly Hauula crash, is 34. An earlier version incorrectly reported Kinikini’s age as 36.
