The suspect in the hit-and-run accident that killed Honolulu police officer Dannygriggs Padayao is back in Michigan but has agreed to return to Hawaii to face prosecution, said James Wright, the attorney representing the man's relatives in Hawaii. Hit-and-run suspect
is back in MichiganIndex lists revoked, suspended licenses
By Nelson Daranciang
Star-BulletinPolice arrested the 22-year-old Michigan man following the April 30 accident but released him pending the outcome of their investigation.
"He didn't leave with the police chasing him," Wright said. "We spoke to Maj. Owens (police Traffic Division Commander Jeffrey Owens), and told him we thought it would be better for him to go back to his family as long as he agreed to come back if he's asked to return. They have his address and telephone number, so he's completely available at any time."
Wright said the man left Hawaii on May 6. "It's a tragedy, and everybody is trying to do the right thing," he said.
Owens did not return calls for comment.
Wright represents relatives with whom the man was staying for about two weeks before the accident. He said the man previously worked in Michigan assembling office furniture and was considering staying and working in Hawaii.
According to police records, when officers arrested the man at his cousin's home on Kamehameha Highway not far from the accident scene, the man was unsteady on his feet, his face and ears were flushed, and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy. Police Sgt. Ricardo Manning also said he detected a strong odor of alcohol on the man's breath.
The man told officers he had just been jumped by two males who told him to walk away from the truck, according to the police records.
The truck is registered to the cousin's girlfriend.
According to police records, officers arriving at the home were greeted by the cousin, who told police: "You're here for my truck. My truck was in an accident." The man also told police his cousin borrowed the truck that evening and had just arrived home claiming two men had jumped him and taken the truck.
Hawaii officials revoked the man's Michigan state driver's license for a year, starting yesterday, for his refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test.
The man will not be able to get another license in any state until his revocation is cleared, said Ronald Sakata, chief adjudicator for the Hawaii Administrative Driver's License Revocation Office.
Padayao, 46, was killed when a pickup truck struck him as he was laying flares around an accident site on Kamehameha Highway in Waikane near the intersection with Johnson Road.
The driver stopped the pickup truck after striking the officer, then fled on foot.
According to police records, an area resident who checked on the driver following the accident and a Honolulu firefighter at the scene for the earlier accident positively identified the arrested man as the driver of the pickup.
The man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, negligent homicide and failing to render aid.
A spokesman for the Honolulu Prosecutor's Office said police have yet to forward the case for prosecution.
A nationwide computer index of traffic offenders and an agreement among all states prevent drivers whose licenses are suspended or revoked in one state from getting a license in another state. Index lists revoked,
suspended licensesBy Nelson Daranciang
Star-BulletinWhen the state revokes a license, "We make our entry into the traffic violator system that issues drivers' abstracts and the county licensing agencies," said Ronald Sakata, chief adjudicator for the Hawaii Administrative Driver's License Revocation Office.
The state also seizes the driver's license and sends it to the issuing state after the driver can no longer appeal the suspension or revocation.
The counties then input the information into the Problem Driver Pointer (PDP) System, said Dennis Kamimura, licensing administrator for the city and county of Honolulu.
That prevents people whose licenses are suspended or revoked in Hawaii from obtaining a license in another state, and vice versa.
"We check the PDP if in fact the driver has a suspension or revocation, then we tell the individual that they need to clear it with that state," Kamimura said.
Kamimura said all states are members of a compact that essentially establishes a single nationwide driver's license system.
According to the agreement, if one state issues a license to a driver, another state cannot issue that driver a license unless the individual surrenders the first license to the new state, he said.