DUI bill moves forward in wake of fatal Kakaako crash

State lawmakers advanced a measure Thursday that would allow judges to prohibit drunken drivers from purchasing or publicly consuming alcohol for three years after their conviction, among other increased penalties.

The hearing on the measure by the House Judiciary Committee follows a tragic traffic crash in Kakaako last month that left three dead and five seriously injured. The widow of William Travis Lau, a 39-year-old Honolulu doctor who was one of those killed, testified in favor of the bill.

“My husband, along with those other victims, were not doing anything wrong; they were in the right place,” said Melissa Lau, who is a nurse at Straub Medical Center, through tears. “My husband was just out there enjoying himself, exercising, and this senseless thing is what took him away from the world, took him away from me.

“I feel that hopefully this bill is going to be a step in the right direction to helping to prevent things like this from happening again — people like this being on the road, people like this being out there, being able to hurt other people, kill people. It should have never happened.”

Alins Sumang, the 27-year-old driver charged with manslaughter in connection with the crash, had a strong odor of alcohol on him and a half-empty bottle of Absolut vodka on the floorboard of his Ford F-150 pickup at the time of the crash, according to police. His blood alcohol level has not been made public.

Just before the deadly crash, Sumang had slammed into parked cars several blocks away and was being followed by a police vehicle as he sped down Ala Moana Boulevard, police said. After crossing three lanes of traffic to attempt a right turn onto Kamakee Street, he crashed into a group of pedestrians before ramming into another pickup and critically injuring its driver, police said.

Police said Sumang hit the pedestrians at 51 mph.

Others killed in the accident were Casimir Pokorny, 26, of Pennsylvania and Reino Ikeda, 47, of Japan.

House Bill 703, introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Chris Lee, still needs to be heard by the House Finance Committee and the Senate.

The measure initially proposed that residents caught driving under the influence be automatically banned from buying alcohol or consuming it in public for three years. Lee amended the measure Thursday to leave it up to the discretion of judges, noting that not all charges involve alcohol and could relate to other drugs.

Hawaii’s Office of the Public Defender, overseen by John Tonaki, raised concerns about the bill, arguing in written testimony that those caught driving under the influence could be suffering from substance abuse problems, and therefore the Legislature should focus more on treatment and education, rather than punishment.

The public defender’s office also argued that a three-year alcohol prohibition was excessive and that it shouldn’t be extended past the standard probationary period of six months.

The measure would also increase fines for being caught driving under the influence. For a first offense the minimum fine would increase to $250 from $150. Fines for a second offense would increase to between $1,000 to $3,000 from between $500 to $1,500. For a third offense, drivers could be fined as much as $5,000.

Carol McNamee of the Hawaii chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said in testimony that the advocacy group had no position on the three-year alcohol prohibition. She said MADD is not aware of any other state in which such a prohibition has been implemented, and the group would need more information to evaluate whether it would be effective.

McNamee said MADD believes revoking driver’s licenses and requiring ignition interlock devices that prevent a car from starting if a convicted drunken driver has alcohol in their system are the best methods for preventing repeat drunken driving. McNamee also said MADD would support increased fines.