Man gets 20 years
for DUI death

The prosecutor sought 20 years because
the driver has a history of dangerous behavior

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By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com

A 23-year-old Waimanalo man was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday for killing Lori Wiley in a traffic crash while driving drunk just over two years ago near the Olomana Links.

Kam Williams, who was 19 at the time, was seen speeding before he crashed his vehicle head-on into a car driven by Wiley, 32, a full-time Air National Guardsman who was on her way to work at Hickam Air Force Base early on Jan. 2, 2001.

Williams, whose blood-alcohol level was 0.21 shortly after the crash and also tested positive for marijuana, had pleaded guilty in November to manslaughter for recklessly causing Wiley's death. The state's blood-alcohol limit is .08.

Deputy Prosecutor Franklin Pacarro Jr. had asked the judge to sentence Williams to 20 years because he remains a danger to the public.

At the time of the crash, not only did Williams not have a license to drive, but just 49 days earlier, he had been convicted of driving while intoxicated, Pacarro said.

In the months following the crash and his indictment in April 2001, Williams was twice arrested for driving without a license. He also failed to complete a 14-hour DUI course and stopped meeting regularly with his probation officer in October 2001, Pacarro said.

Defense attorney Jonathan Burge had asked that Williams be sentenced as a youthful offender to eight years in prison.

Williams took responsibility for his actions and spared Wiley's family from a trial by pleading guilty as charged without any deals and cooperating with civil attorneys in a suit filed by the Wiley family, Burge said.

Both Williams and his mother apologized to the Wiley family.

Wiley's friends and family members who crowded the courtroom yesterday described her as a loving mother to her daughter and a gung-ho person who lived life to the fullest.

Members of the Hawaii Air National Guard Honor Guard, of which Wiley was a member, brought her polished work boots and a folded flag to the sentencing to symbolize her spiritual presence.

"These boots were everything to Lori," said Technical Sgt. Tommy Chock, who supervised Wiley in the honor guard -- an elite team that gives funeral honors for veterans of the Air Force and Air National Guard. "This is what paid Lori's bills, supported her family, and she's not here to wear them anymore."

Chock said that of all the funerals he has ever planned, the hardest to do was Wiley's.

"She was my friend, sister, classmate, counselor and family," he said.

Fellow honor guard member Staff Sgt. Darrell Bactad described Wiley as someone who opened her heart, even to strangers.

"There are no winners in this because it won't bring back Lori," he said yesterday. "I hope one day some positive comes out of it and when (Williams) gets out of prison he becomes a role model to others about drinking and driving."

Two bars where Williams had been drinking the night of the crash have settled a lawsuit filed by Wiley's family and agreed to pay $1 million.