Driver, 20, charged in Kauai crash that killed 2
LIHUE » A 20-year-old man was indicted on manslaughter charges this week, with authorities alleging his reckless driving caused an accident last year that killed two and left two others permanently injured.
Jameel Ramirez of Hanamaulu pleaded not guilty yesterday to two counts of manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault. He is being held at Kauai Community Correctional Center in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Ramirez, who was born in the Philippines, was also ordered to surrender his passport.
On Halloween last year, Ramirez, driving a friend's car, crashed head-on into a car carrying the Nuesca family on Kuhio Highway in Kapaia.
Helene and Louis Nuesca, Anahola residents, died as a result of the crash. Their son, Robert Nuesca, an entertainer and a volunteer coach, was left paraplegic and permanently brain-damaged. Ramirez's passenger, Charlie Cabangbang, was also permanently injured in the crash.
Kauai Prosecutor Craig De Costa said the manslaughter and assault charges were warranted because the driver's actions were reckless.
Ramirez was driving fast, weaving in and out of traffic, before the car crossed the center line and hit the Nuescas' vehicle, law enforcement sources said.
CORRECTION
Monday, June 26, 2006
» A man indicted on manslaughter charges in a 2005 crash is from Hanamaulu, Kauai. A headline on Page A4 in Friday's paper said he was from Maui.
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