The driver accused of crashing his car into a bus stop shelter in Makaha in March, killing a 3-year-old boy and injuring four of the boy’s family members, pleaded guilty in state court Tuesday in a plea deal that will net him 20 years in prison.
Potasi S. Uta Jr., 44, pleaded guilty as charged to negligent homicide, four counts of negligent injury and fleeing the scene of the crash.
Aston Brown died at the bus stop on the makai side of Farrington Highway, fronting Makaha Beach, where he, his mother and siblings were waiting as the family worked out where they would stay for the night.
Gregory Brown, Aston’s father, who was on the mauka side of the road, watched helplessly as the car plowed into his family.
Aston’s sister Gala, 11, had a broken arm, collarbone, two ribs, leg and skull. The crash broke both of his 5-year-old sister Freya’s legs.
His mother, Charesse Brown, 41, had to get a titanium rod in her thigh because of her injuries, while his brother, Alexander, 5, suffered scars on his lower left leg from fractures.
After the accident, there was an outpouring of sympathy for the Browns, including from Uta’s family.
Esther Willets, Uta’s niece, said her family had raised money through car washes, a pizza night and donations that would be turned over to the Browns.
Police said Uta drove away from the crash scene in a river of sparks as parts of the damaged vehicle scraped the road surface. They stopped him two miles away.
A city prosecutor said Uta’s blood alcohol content was 0.16 when tested 31⁄2 hours later. The threshold for drunken driving is 0.08.
The prosecutor also said Uta refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test, so police had to restrain him to take a blood sample.
Uta was on parole for a 2004 burglary conviction at the time of the crash.
Court records show that Uta had six prior felony convictions and six misdemeanors, including a 1986 conviction for drunken driving, car theft and criminal property damage on Maui. He was sentenced to five years in prison. In 2004 he was sentenced to a 10-year prison term for first-degree burglary and was placed on parole. He was again sent back to prison in 2008 for violating his parole.
According to the terms of his plea deal, Uta must complete his 10-year sentence for the burglary before he begins his 20-year term for the negligent homicide case.
