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Yonamine
was weaving on
H-1 freeway

The state representative was
arrested for drunken driving;
a police report said his car
crossed lane lines 4 times,
his speech slurred

---

By Richard Borreca
and Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Details of the arrest of Rep. Noboru Yonamine for drunken driving show that police stopped the 66-year-old former social worker because he was weaving across the lane lines as he drove on H-1 near the Radford pedestrian overpass.

Yonamine (D, Pearl City), who has 20 years of service as a state representative and member of the Board of Education, was stopped just after midnight Feb. 8 by police officer Cullen Kau, who was on routine patrol.

He said Yonamine's white 1999 Honda Accord was going 50 mph in a 55-mph area and was weaving between the lane lines.

The car crossed over the lane lines four times, twice by as much as two feet, according to the report.

"Accused vehicle on numerous occasions while weaving would jerk back to the opposite side quickly as it contacted or crossed over divider lines," Kau said in his report.

After stopping Yonamine's car, Kau said, Yonamine's face was flushed, his eyes were red and glassy and his speech was slurred.

Kau said he "detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" while questioning Yonamine.

During the field sobriety test, Yonamine stopped to urinate on the side of the road, the police officer said. He failed the test and was taken to the Pearl City Police Station, where he consented to a breath test. His blood alcohol level was 0.134. It is against the law to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more.

Ron Sakata, director of the administrative driver's license revocation office, said Yonamine's license will be revoked for three months, starting March 11.

Yonamine next month also has to go to court to face criminal charges of drunken driving.

Sakata said there is usually a one-month delay before a driver's license revocation because of the time for paperwork to be completed.

Yonamine said he is going to go to counseling and is willing to accept whatever punishment is meted out.

After the arrest, Yonamine said he would resign his legislative seat after the current legislative session ends.

But he said later that he has had an outpouring of support from his district.

"I am still receiving calls and almost all have been in support. They indicate that I made a mistake and I must learn from the mistake. So I haven't made up my mind," Yonamine said.

Only about six calls have been negative, Yonamine said, including one from a woman whose daughter was killed by a drunken driver.

There were no injuries or property damage in Yonamine's case and both Sakata and the police report said Yonamine was cooperative throughout the arrest and booking.

"I am going to undergo counseling to assess what I did and why I did it," Yonamine said.

As a condition of his license revocation, he will be referred to the state driver's education program and he will be assessed, according to Sakata.

The driver's education program could suggest that he get remedial help or counseling. After three months, Yonamine will have to reapply for his driver's license and pass the driving and written test, Sakata said.

"I will take whatever comes," Yonamine said. "I would just like people to also know I have been in public service for 20 years and I am proud to have served. I tried to do it fairly and objectively."