CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Danny Gorman, left, with deputy public defender Walter Rodby was sentenced in Circuit Court yesterday for causing a girl's death while under the influence of drugs.
Waipahu man
gets 10 years for
drug-related fatal crashThe victim's parents tell of the
pain of losing their daughter
A 39-year-old man was sentenced yesterday to a maximum 10 years in prison for causing the death of a girl in a car crash near Waipahu while under the influence of drugs.
Danny Gorman, a 19-year Air Force veteran and more recently an aircraft mechanic with the Hawaii National Guard, had been charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of 11-year-old Jasey Delos Reyes, the daughter of his then-girlfriend, on Oct. 8, 2000.
He was the first on Oahu to be charged with manslaughter -- punishable by a 20-year prison term -- for causing the death of another while under the influence of drugs.
Gorman was convicted in a jury-waived trial last November of the lesser charge of first-degree negligent homicide. He had admitted he smoked crystal methamphetamine and took Valium the night before the crash to help him cope with the pain from a recurring work-related back injury.
Gorman, Delos Reyes and her mother, Lavern Carpenter, were headed home after a weekend at the Turtle Bay Hilton when Gorman lost control of the car.
Witnesses said the car veered across three lanes of the H-2 town-bound near the Waianae offramp. The car struck a dirt berm, catapulted 50 feet into the air and landed on its roof on the shoulder of the Wahiawa-bound lanes. Delos Reyes was thrown from the car and died at the scene. Her mother suffered serious injuries, including a mangled right arm and loss of her pinky and ring finger.
Yesterday, Gorman also pleaded no contest to third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia stemming from a pipe with crystal meth residue that was found in the car.
Deputy public defender Walter Rodby sought probation, saying that this is a serious matter but that Gorman has taken responsibility for his actions.
Deputy Prosecutor Keith Seto opposed probation and asked for five years in prison on the drug charges and the maximum 10 years for the negligent homicide.
Seto said he feels strongly this was a case of manslaughter. "This is not a case of falling asleep at the wheel," he said.
Gorman wept as he apologized to Delos Reyes' parents for their loss, telling them that if he could, he would change places with their daughter. "It was an accident -- it was never done intentionally or on purpose," he said.
He said he fell asleep at the wheel.
Had he known that smoking "ice" one day would affect him the next day, "I wouldn't have driven," he said.
Delos Reyes' parents were too distraught to make a statement yesterday, but their letters to the court showed how devastating the loss of their daughter has been, Seto said.
Since her daughter's death, Carpenter said in her letter, she has never felt such pain and emptiness in her life. Jason Delos Reyes said in his letter that his daughter was sweet and innocent and brought purpose to his life.
