Driver jailed
for Pali fatality
The judge also revokes
By Debra Barayuga
Brandon Tamashiro's
license for five years
Star-BulletinDistrict Court Judge Colette Y. Garibaldi issued a 30-day jail sentence and revoked the license of a driver who hit and killed a 90-year-old woman who was crossing the Pali Highway last year.
She also sentenced Brandon Tamashiro to one year's probation and 500 hours of community service in addition to the 5-year license suspension.
At today's hearing, Tamashiro, 22, cried and told the family of his victim that he was sorry for the suffering and loss that he brought upon them.
"I'll never drive again," Tamashiro told the court.
"Thirty days is not enough but its better than nothing," said Arvid Hara, the son of Anna Hara, who was in a crosswalk when Tamashiro's car struck and killed her.
The incident was not Tamashiro's first fatal pedestrian accident.
When he was 17, Tamashiro also struck and killed Phillip M. C. Kong in a Pali Highway crosswalk near where Hara was killed.
Tamashiro pleaded no contest to charges of third-degree negligent homicide in connection with Hara's death.
Tamashiro has not been driving since the incident. He catches the bus to his job at Oahu Country Club, where he is a full-time waiter.