Defendant’s statement in fatal DUI crash suppressed

Judge: Alcohol and injury interfered with ability to waive rights

WAILUKU -- Saying a driver showed indications of alcohol intoxication that affected his ability to waive his constitutional rights after a crash that killed three people, a judge Monday granted a defense request to suppress the statements.

In making the ruling, 2nd Circuit Judge Peter Cahill also said that the injury suffered by defendant James Walsh was a factor.

"The heart of the issue is whether or not the defendant was in a condition to knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently waive his constitutional rights," Cahill said. "There is evidence here that he did suffer a head trauma. There is circumstantial evidence to show that this was probably as bad a motor vehicle accident as you can get."

Walsh, 27, of Pukalani has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding in connection with the crash at 9:33 p.m. June 20, 2015, on what was then Mokulele Highway.

Police said Walsh had been traveling north on the highway when his white Toyota pickup truck slammed into the victims' blue Dodge pickup truck, which had been turning left from the highway into the Maui Raceway Park entrance.

Howard Pruse, 25, and Eric Oguma, 51, of Waiehu and Tyree Kamaunu, 27, of Waihee died after being ejected from the bed of the Dodge pickup, police said.

At the court hearing Monday, Kawika Hong, who was then a police traffic investigator and the primary investigator of the crash, testified he arrived on scene at about 10:15 p.m.

"There was a lot of debris on the roadway, and this was a rather large accident scene," he said.

After learning that Walsh had been taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, Hong said he went to the hospital emergency room and spoke with Walsh, who was wearing a hospital gown, starting at about 11:35 p.m.

Walsh had red, watery eyes and complexion, was slurring his words slightly and had a slight odor of alcohol, which were indications of alcohol intoxication, Hong said.

He said Walsh's parents were in the room when Walsh agreed to waive his Miranda rights and provide a statement.

"He was very forthcoming," Hong said.

He said Walsh provided details about what he was doing before the crash and whom he was with.

"The only time that he had any kind of pause as far as his statement was the moment of the collision itself, which is understandable," Hong said.

Hong didn't testify Monday about the details of what Walsh said. But according to a police report filed in court, Walsh reported being at Makena State Park or Big Beach with two friends and drinking three to four beers over three to four hours in the afternoon before the crash. Walsh and his two friends had dinner in Kihei before he began driving them home, heading toward Kahului on Mokulele Highway, according to the report.

Walsh said he was driving about 55 mph near Maui Raceway Park when "he believed he struck something in the road with his truck but could not recall exactly what happened because it happened so quickly," according to the report.

"He recalls that his truck began flipping just before he lost consciousness," the report said. "When he awoke, he heard people yelling for help."

Judge Cahill noted that the Toyota driven by Walsh ended up on its roof, while the three men in the bed of the Dodge were ejected.

"At the time officer Hong arrived at the scene, they had only discovered one body," Cahill said. "That does speak dramatically as to the force of the impact . . .

"Three people died that were all in the bed. Only one body was found initially. When he left the scene, he only knew of one fatality. That is circumstantial evidence of the severity of the impact."

Earlier in the hearing, Cahill said he would review Walsh's medical records but wouldn't allow the prosecution to use or see the records at this time.

Cahill said Walsh's blood-alcohol content was previously ruled inadmissible in a trial because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that a warrant was required to draw blood from someone unless there are exigent circumstances.

Walsh's attorney, Myles Breiner, had argued that Walsh's statement should be dismissed, saying Hong violated Maui Police Department policy when he advised Walsh of his constitutional rights verbally instead of using a form and having Walsh sign and initial the form.

Hong testified he didn't have a form with him because he had removed equipment from his vehicle after investigating another fatal crash that morning.

Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Martin said the statement should be allowed if the court believed Walsh had been advised of his constitutional rights and agreed to waive them, as Hong testified.

"While it might be in violation of departmental policy, it is not in violation of the Constitution," Martin said.

"There is no testimony or evidence to demonstrate that the defendant was medically, mentally or otherwise incapable of making a knowing and intelligent waiver of his constitutional rights," Martin said.

Judge Cahill said Hong was "a very credible witness."

"I did find him to be credible, and I did find him to be forthright," Cahill said. "He admitted his failings. I don't think they go to the heart of the issues."

Referring to Hong's testimony about indications that Walsh was intoxicated and had a concussion, Cahill said he couldn't find that Walsh "gave the statements intelligently, voluntarily."

Cahill said his ruling was preliminary and applied to the prosecution's main presentation of evidence. He said the issue might be raised again.

A Jan. 21 trial is scheduled for Walsh.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.