Soldier admits
to role in death

Jesse Williams is on trial in
the traffic fatality of a friend

A carload of girls pulled alongside and ahead of Jesse Williams on the H-2 freeway in 2003 as he headed for a night in Waikiki, causing him to try to catch up with them, a deputy public defender says.

Williams and his passenger, fellow soldier Marquel A. Roberts, never made it to Waikiki, said deputy public defender Walter Rodby.

Near the Waianae offramp, witnesses said, the 19-year-old Williams lost control of his Lincoln Continental, which flipped onto its roof about a half-mile south of Ka Uka Boulevard. Roberts, 23, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the car. He was transported to town via ambulance and died at the Queen's Medical Center.

Williams, now 21, went on trial yesterday in Circuit Judge Steve Alm's courtroom, charged with manslaughter for recklessly causing Roberts' death on April 5, 2003.

Deputy Prosecutor Marvin Rampey said blood samples taken from Williams at Queen's showed alcohol in his system measuring at least 0.15 percent, almost twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

And at the hospital, Williams allegedly said he was going 120 mph when he lost control and crashed, Rampey said.

The defense doesn't dispute that Williams drank that night before they left for Waikiki, even though he was not yet 21 and was speeding at the time of the crash.

Rodby said Williams pursued the carload of girls at a high rate of speed. But Williams wasn't known to ever drink alcohol or to be the type to speed, according to a supervisor. He also had never been cited for any traffic violations, Rodby said.

"I'm not here to ask you to find him completely innocent," Rodby told the jury during opening statements, suggesting Williams be convicted of a lesser charge. "I ask that you find him not guilty of manslaughter."

Roberts had served in the same unit as Williams and had befriended the younger man when he was assigned to Schofield. Rodby said Williams went through a severe bout of depression over the death of his friend. But because he was such a good soldier, the Army put him through treatment and he has remained in the military, Rodby said.

If convicted of manslaughter, Williams faces 20 years in prison.