Killer driver blames boss
Steve Oshiro is suing Roberts and wants his plea withdrawn
Former Roberts Hawaii bus driver Steve Oshiro says it was not his fault that he crashed his bus into a sport utility vehicle in Kahaluu two years ago, killing the SUV driver.
He says it was the fault of his supervisor and company for forcing him to drive even though he was not feeling well and wanted to go home.
Oshiro, 50, is suing Assistant Operations Manager Isaac Takahashi and Roberts in Circuit Court over what happened on Kamehameha Highway June 12, 2006.
Takahashi had no comment on the lawsuit. Roberts said it could not comment because it had not yet received the lawsuit.
Oshiro also is trying to withdraw his no-contest plea to manslaughter in connection with the death of the SUV driver, 41-year-old Corey Voss.
His sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, when state Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario will consider Oshiro's requests to postpone sentencing and to withdraw his earlier plea.
Oshiro agreed to the maximum 20-year prison term and to start serving the sentence right away when he pleaded no contest in January. In exchange for his plea, City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle promised to request that Oshiro serve no more than 10 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Carlisle could not be reached for comment regarding Oshiro's request to withdraw his no-contest plea.
According to the lawsuit, Takahashi threatened to fire Oshiro if he did not drive on the day he crashed into Voss' SUV.
Oshiro was not feeling well because he was working 90 hours per week and had stayed up late the night before celebrating his birthday, said Michael Green, his lawyer.
"This should have been negligent homicide, not manslaughter," Green said.
Roberts fired Oshiro for refusing to submit to drug and alcohol testing after the crash.
When the company searched Oshiro's belongings, it did not find drugs or alcohol, Green said.
Oshiro was involved in an accident with a city bus earlier in the day. The company was required to test him for drug and alcohol following that accident but did not, Green said.
