Driver is charged
in death of woman

An Oahu grand jury charged a man with manslaughter for allegedly striking and killing a woman with his car shortly after smoking crystal methamphetamine, or "ice."

Prosecutors said Andres Richard Jesus Paredes, 31, admitted smoking ice a few hours before driving along Diamond Head Road in the early morning hours of March 12. Paredes said he fell asleep behind the wheel at some point, and prosecutors said it was then that he hit 76-year-old Barbara J. Gallicchio as she was on her morning walk around Diamond Head.

According to police affidavits, Paredes told uniformed police officers who responded to the scene of the collision: "I thought I hit the curb. I stopped and looked back and saw the lady.

"I don't know how it happened. Why did this happen to me?"

When police arrested Paredes, they recovered a 12-gauge shotgun from his vehicle along with packets of ice. Paredes later told investigators that he was a drug trafficker who used the shotgun for protection. He also said that though he knew he should have pulled over to sleep, he did not want to risk police stopping him and finding the gun and the drugs.

Besides the state charge of manslaughter, Paredes also faces pending felony drug and firearm charges as a result of the incident. According to court records, before the Diamond Head collision, Paredes had been cited for seven speeding and other moving violations, including driving 95 mph in a 55 mph zone on Dec. 27. He was fined $200 and referred to a driver education class.