KEN SAKAMOTO / STAR-BULLETIN
Clyde Arakawa and his attorney were at Circuit Court yesterday.
Arakawa claims faulty street lights, rather than his drinking,
caused Dana Ambrose's death in an Oct. 7 crash.

Arakawa files
countersuit against
city in fatal crash

He alleges street lights caused
Dana Ambrose's death,
not drinking

---

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

The city failed to ensure the traffic light at Iolani Avenue and Pali Highway was reasonably maintained and operating and cycling properly, resulting in a crash that caused the death of Dana Ambrose, according to a third-party lawsuit filed by retired police officer Clyde Arakawa.

The lawsuit is in response to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Ambrose family against Arakawa and two establishments, which allegedly served him alcohol the night of the Oct. 7 crash.

Arakawa, indicted by a grand jury last week on a charge of manslaughter for causing Ambrose's death, was processed at the Honolulu District Court cellblock yesterday and released.

Circuit Judge Richard Perkins granted Arakawa's request yesterday for temporary supervised release for seven days so he can make arrangements to post $100,000 bail.

Arakawa, 49, who now lives in Oregon, had agreed in advance to turn himself in by noon yesterday to Honolulu police but had no time to make arrangements to post bail since his arrival here, said his attorney Michael Ostendorp.

Perkins said he can impose certain conditions to minimize any risk Arakawa poses.

While under supervised release, Arakawa is prohibited from driving, consuming or possessing alcohol and must submit to drug or alcohol testing if asked.

He was also ordered to stay away from Side Street Inn and Tropic's Diner, at which Arakawa went drinking the night of the crash.

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle had opposed Arakawa's request, noting that the safety of the community needed to be considered.

Arakawa knows from previous experience alcohol's effects on him, Carlisle said, citing a 1992 trespassing case where a Kailua homeowner found the police officer passed out drunk on his living room floor and the crash that killed Ambrose.

Arakawa is also aware he is facing a serious charge that is punishable by a 20-year prison term, Carlisle said.

To grant Arakawa supervised release is an "unconscionable risk" to the safety of the community and diminishes the seriousness of the charge, Carlisle said.

Ostendorp said the charges Arakawa faces are based on allegations only and that his client no longer drinks and drives.

Arakawa's driver's license was suspended for a year after the crash because police had probable cause that he was driving under the influence of alcohol and because he refused to submit to a field sobriety test at the crash scene.

"He is not a flight risk and he did not contribute to the death of Dana Ambrose," Ostendorp said outside the courtroom.

Experts for the defense say Ambrose was speeding well over the speed limit when she collided with Arakawa, resulting in the severe damages to her car, causing it to fold crumple like an accordion, Ostendorp said.

The damage Arakawa's car sustained was not consistent with him speeding, "or else he would have had greater damage and injuries."

After colliding with Arakawa who was headed north on the Pali, her car struck the traffic light, shearing it off, then slammed into a concrete wall at 55 mph, Ostendorp said.

If Arakawa had been speeding and struck Ambrose as her family's lawyer contends, "he would have carried her straight up the Pali past the intersection," Ostendorp said.

Had the city maintained the traffic light properly and ensured that it cycled in a manner that allowed cars traveling at a reasonable speed and entering the Pali intersection to clear before allowing traffic on Iolani Avenue to enter the intersection, the crash might have been prevented, Ostendorp said.

He said they asked to meet with prosecutors to share this information but they declined and presented their case before the grand jury instead, resulting in the indictment for manslaughter.

Had the grand jury heard the defense's evidence, "no one would have found Clyde guilty," Ostendorp said.

Ostendorp said Arakawa does not deny he was out that night with friends but he did not consume enough alcohol to be intoxicated.

Carlisle declined to comment on the traffic light evidence raised by Arakawa but said the defense's comments were to be expected.

Carlisle said the charge against Arakawa was appropriate for a case where someone dies in an alcohol-related traffic case.

In considering a charge of manslaughter, prosecutors look at whether there is a history of impaired driving, how impaired the driver was and whether speed and traffic violations were involved.

Prosecutors felt Arakawa posed a danger to the community based on the Ambrose incident as well as his previous conduct in the 1992 trespassing case.

In the Oct. 7 crash, police officers at the scene observed Arakawa with alcohol on his breath and glassy, red eyes. He blew a blood alcohol level of 0.06 about seven hours after the incident, Carlisle said. The legal limit is 0.08.

Experts hired by the state suggest based on those levels, Arakawa had a blood alcohol level of 0.16 at the time of the accident, Carlisle said.

An accident reconstructionist has determined Arakawa ran a red light and was going between 57 and 59 mph in a 25 mph zone when the crash occurred, Carlisle said.