Nearly five years after 20-year-old Troy Kahooilihala Jr. was killed in an
Oct. 5, 2017, crash near Keaau Beach Park, a Circuit Court jury began deliberating Wednesday on whether his friend — the alleged driver — is guilty of manslaughter.
The six-day trial of Puletua Wilson, a former Waianae High School quarterback now in his late 20s, wrapped up Wednesday morning with closing arguments. He was indicted
Dec. 11, 2018.
Deputy Prosecutor Anna Ishikawa told jurors Wilson was intoxicated at the Waianae Boat Harbor when he and his friends Robbie Delenia and Kahooilihala drank from sundown to after midnight.
When the group ended up at the Yokohama Bay cul-de-sac, it was Wilson’s actions and decisions there to continue to drink alcohol, to get behind the driver’s wheel of Delenia’s car and drive with Delenia in the front seat, and Kahooilihala, the back-seat passenger, despite others trying to stop him, she said.
“He was going more than 100 mph and he didn’t slow down,” Ishikawa said, adding he swerved, but never slowed down as he headed home toward Makaha. He was reckless as he sped through the dark stretch of
3 to 5 miles on Farrington Highway, where the speed limit is 45 mph.
There was no evidence of brakes being applied, she said, citing the testimony
of a police officer.
A defense witness said he “heard a roar coming from a vehicle,” before it collided with a parked white truck, severely damaging its front end, Ishikawa said.
The maroon Toyota Avalon launched into the air, went “head to toe, head to toe, end over end into the sand,” landing more than 200 feet from the truck, she said.
“Troy was ejected an additional 60 feet, cracking his head on boulders,” Ishikawa said. He died of multiple blunt force injuries to his body, with rib fractures and bleeding on the brain.
The debris field was large, with beer cans, car parts and a cooler strewn everywhere, “signs to support his high rate of speed,” she said.
Wilson’s court-appointed attorney, Nelson Goo, argued that the manner of death provided by the chief medical examiner for Kahooilihala was accidental.
“But for not wearing a seat belt, would there be a manslaughter charge?” he asked jurors.
He said the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Wilson was under the influence of alcohol, adding, “Negligence is more appropriate here.”
Goo suggested Delenia may have been the actual driver since he had been driving his car earlier, and may have been trying to get out of being arrested. He told good Samaritan Blake Freitas, who put out the car fire, “Get me out of here.”
Freitas testified Wilson was in the middle when he arrived.
He said the driver’s seat belt was loose, but the front passenger seat belt harness was taut, and questioned how Delenia could have wiggled out of it.
He also said police failed to check for fingerprints on the steering wheel, but DNA from blood on the air bags was from two or more
people.
Goo also blamed a woman whose boyfriend told her to “chase ’em,” alleging they were following close behind, which may have been a contributing factor to the crash. He called this a pursuit, which is a dangerous practice police have ceased engaging in.
Ishikawa countered that the medical examiner said the “manner” was a medical determination for the death certificate, not to be used in a criminal prosecution.
She pointed out Wilson was the driver, “suspended upside down and held in place by a seat belt,” which was in the middle because the sedan had flipped over.
And yes, Delenia did wriggle out from the seat belt, which is how he sustained injuries to his right cheek, Ishikawa said.
He testified there was swerving right before the crash and told himself, “I knew we were going to crash,” before he blacked out, she said.
Ishikawa said, “This case is not about seat belts, not about blaming Robbie and the girl.”
“Look at all the evidence,” she said. “There’s a lot in this case. Hold him accountable and find him guilty as charged with manslaughter.”
Jurors were not allowed to hear evidence that Wilson had a blood alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit for drunken driving — 0.08, two hours after the crash.
At the hospital, a blood draw was taken at police officers’ request without Wilson’s consent or a warrant.
Despite the defense’s Feb. 23, 2021, motion to suppress the evidence because it was “an unreasonable search and seizure,” the judge denied the motion July 1, 2021, since the law allows a nonconsensual blood draw if police have probable cause to believe a driver was intoxicated. The judge found probable cause since his breath smelled of alcohol and beer and a cooler were strewn at the crash site.
But on Nov. 22, Goo asked for a reconsideration based on an Oct. 21 appeals court decision in a similar case that found the prosecution did not show officers were justified in acting without a warrant and the lower court erred in its ruling to justify a warrantless arrest.
