Man gets 10-year term
in drunken-driving death

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Star-Bulletin staff

An Oahu man accused of driving drunk when his car fatally struck a Haleiwa man as he stood in his driveway pleaded no contest yesterday to first-degree negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.

Richard Dayton, 24, was immediately sentenced to two 10-year terms of imprisonment to be served concurrently.

The victim, Isaac Kapua, 54, was in his yard fixing his van on Nov. 27, 2000, and had just been called inside for dinner by his wife when he was struck. He died at the scene.

The van he had been fixing was turned 180 degrees and pushed 36 feet by the impact of Dayton's car, said Deputy Prosecutor Franklin Pacarro Jr.

Dayton was driving home on Haleiwa Beach Road and traveling in excess of 50 mph in a 25 mph zone when he hit his brakes, went over a guardrail and careened into Kapua, Pacarro said.

Dayton did not have a driver's license at the time of the crash. He fled the scene, but was later arrested. Tests taken three hours after the crash showed that Dayton's blood alcohol was above the legal limit.

He was arrested twice after the crash for driving without a license.

His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Todd Eddins, said Dayton expressed remorse for causing Kapua's death.