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Kailua boat driver receives citation after fatal collision with diver

COURTESY ALYSON SHIM

Sri Shim, middle, died in an ocean accident off Lanikai Jan. 9. To his left is his daughter Alyson, and to his right is daughter Lauren Kawahakui. Sai Hensen, 41, of Kailua was given a citation for driving without a license in the incident.

The boater involved in a fatal accident off Lanikai Beach last month is scheduled to appear in Kaneohe District Court on Feb. 16 for operating a power boat without proof of having completed a boater safety course.

State conservation and resource enforcement officers cited Sai Hansen with the violation on Jan. 9, the same day a 59-year-old diver died from injuries he suffered after being run over by a power boat. The citation was filed in court Thursday.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner says Shim died from blunt force and propeller injuries. Shim and his stepson Trey Albrecht were spearfishing when a boat ran over them. Albrecht, 25, sustained cuts that severed tendons in his left arm.

State administrative boating rules require any person who operates power driven vessel to possess a certificate of completion of a safety course approved by the Department of Land and Natural Resources that contains a component on Hawaii waters. Anyone who is stopped by a law enforcement officer is required to present the certificate.

Violations are punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a $1,000 fine and suspension of boating privileges.

No one has been charged with any criminal offenses for causing Shim’s death or injuring Albrecht.

74 responses to “Kailua boat driver receives citation after fatal collision with diver”

  1. Iuki says:

    Is it a wonder he was cited at all? According to other reports, this guy has no respect for other people in the water. He should be looked at more closely. He killed someone!

    • FARKWARD says:

      “Big Isle officers fatally shoot man who drove toward them.” COMPARED TO: “Kailua boat driver receives citation after fatal collision with diver.” ARE WE CERTAIN THAT HAWAII HAS AN ATTORNEY GENERAL? No wonder the Hawaii Bar Association is the laughing-stock of the U.S.A..
      My sincerest condolences to the Family of SAI HANSEN–and I don’t truly mean to “make-light” of this horrific tragedy–and, I sincerely pray for the repose of this man’s soul… But, YOU MUST SUE ALL (City/County/State/The Murderer, et al) related to this HORRENDOUS INCIDENT.

    • allie says:

      There are various articles on the internet tying this killer boatman to a terrorist Hindu group. Apparently he has been a bully for a long time. Lanikai sounds just horrible as a place to live. Bad traffic, bizarre Hindu cults, anger, filth, danger.

    • paulokada says:

      Can you say personal injury lawyer? I think he has a lot of money to pay for damages otherwise he would have gone to jail for manslaughter.

    • saywhatyouthink says:

      This guy should have been arrested for negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter, not just cited for driving a boat without a license. DLNR is a joke, they don’t have the knowledge or expertise to investigate this incident appropriately. As a result, this guy is going to get away with killing a man.

  2. meathead says:

    If they can’t bring criminal charges against him, they should at least sue him and the owner of the boat who allowed him to drive it. It’s just not fair.

  3. akio says:

    Wow, is that all for killing a person. You get put in jail and fined for running over a turtle or heaven forbid, a seal

  4. lowtone123 says:

    He should face criminal charges. If he didn’t have a proper license, then he shouldn’t have have been operating it. This tragedy would have never occurred.

  5. Racoon says:

    What ever happened to involuntary manslaughter?

  6. MANDA says:

    DLNR is messed up. After the “accident,” they issued cautions for divers to use flags and be careful. Shim was using flags and being careful. Now they issue a citation? They are unfit to manage our waters.

    • inverse says:

      According to a previous SA article, it stated Shim was NOT using flags. Was SA in error before?

    • Carang_da_buggahz says:

      I’ll tell you about DLNR “enforcement”. The whole time I was growing up, I saw 1 DLNR officer. ONE. What a joke. Why do we even have game laws here? There is NO enforcement. Mo bettah save the taxpayers’ kala and just disband the whole department. There is no common knowledge of game laws here, much less respect for it. Depleted in-shore fisheries vouch for that. Writing a ticket after the fact is nothing more than damage control and much too little too late.

  7. inverse says:

    What this article did not mention, although mentioned in a prior article, was that Shim was NOT using a dive flag when he was diving. Therefore criminal and even civil charges would be difficult to pursue because Hensen could claim it was purely an accident and Shim contributed to the tragedy without the required dive flag that is supposed to be used by divers. From the prior article, it mentions Hensen has been reckless in the past by speeding near shore in the harbor but doesn’t seem his intent was to hurt or kill someone like Shim. HOWEVER the judge should impose the maximum fine of $1,000 AND have Hensen spend at least 6 months in jail for not having his boating license and send a message to him and others to be a safe and responsible boat owner.

  8. lokela says:

    He’s getting off lightly. According to witnesses he’s been speeding around for sometime now.

    • poipoo says:

      according to evidence, past safety violations were thrown out and he has never been cited for speeding, so where’s the evidence that he’s guilty of speeding – ever? and where’s the proof that he was speeding that day? you are saying here that it’s fact so back it up with facts or you got nothing just like all the other armchair detectives ready to crucify him.

      • nalogirl says:

        Read the article by ilind on his blot. The comments are very interesting. This guy belongs to a cult and is associated with Tulsi Gabbard. Also, Tulsi’s chief of staff belongs to the same cult. Very good investigation reporting for someone to look into.

        • poipoo says:

          So what?
          practically everybody in Hawaii belong to some kind of religion or another so does that mean we need to start asking everyone that has an accident about their religion and go after every church member and pastor if we find out?

        • BIG says:

          Sounds like you are one of those cult guys to

        • poipoo says:

          sounds like you’re a paranoid weirdo hahahaha

        • poipoo says:

          waiting for your other paranoid bud to show up – you make a great couple.

        • poipoo says:

          can just hear you two now

          omg bae! they’re gonna get usssssss! they’re EVERyWhERE!

          aaaaiiiiiiii

    • oxtail01 says:

      There are at least a thousand speeding motorists every hour on our roads. Most of them gets off scot-free all the time. The real cause of these tragedies is the ignorant, above-the-law cretins who makes conscientious decision every day to be animals instead of intelligent human beings.

  9. plaba says:

    One thing to remember, this is a citation from the DLNR, not the prosecutor’s office. He could still face a criminal charge of negligent homicide, if there is evidence towards that.

    I would think that DLNR could confiscate his boat, especially since it was used in an accident in which a person was killed. He definitely should not be boating.

    I do think he could be sued or face criminal charges even if no dive flag was used. The reports said he was speeding within the bouys that are suppose to keep motorized boats away from the shore.

    • poipoo says:

      all i’ve read was people saying ‘the boat’ had been seen speeding ‘before’ – not one report saying the driver was ‘speeding on the day”

      basically people are playing Hawaii CSI with hearsay. nuts

      • BIG says:

        omg poipoo…more I read your comments more you sound like one of those cult guys

        • EnterpriseHonolulu says:

          poipoo has gotta to be a member of the Butler clan and nothing he says has any validity accept to protect the guilty. The first news report Rick Daysog did when they found the boat has witnesses who saw white streams coming off the motor. They will be deposed.

        • poipoo says:

          omg every time i read one of your posts you remind me of a big steaming pile of horse manure.

    • st1d says:

      the prosecutor’s office rarely initiates investigations of their own. it’s the enforcement agency with jurisdiction over any event that is responsible for investigating any criminal liability and submitting their findings to the prosecutor’s office. in this incident it’s dlnr.

      law enforcement agencies normally do not pursue prosecution for minor infractions before pursuing prosecution for more serious criminal liability that arise from the same incident.

      this may be the only criminal complaint to be prosecuted in this incident. a civil suit may still be filed against hansen.

  10. shanik says:

    Please read the link below about the boatdriver and his connection to the Lanikai Cult and Mike/Tulsi Gabbard. https://flashlightonroaches.wordpress.com/2016/01/23/owners-of-cult-boats/

  11. pridon says:

    It looks as if the boat was registered. Since when to you have to have a license to operate a boat unless it is operated fro commercial purposes in which case you need a Coast Guard issued license. In that case it would be a Coast Guard citation. I operated a 19 ft boat in the late 90s and was stopped by Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol. They only checked for PFDs and current registration.

    • SueH says:

      As of November of 2014 everyone who operates a boat in Hawaii needs to carry a Hawaii-specific boat operator’s license they earn from successfully completing a Hawaii oriented boater safety course.

  12. WizardOfMoa says:

    The saddest part of it all, and regardless whose at fault, you can’t restore the life of this family man to his Ohana! RIP!

  13. nalogirl says:

    Read ilind’s article and comments. He also has a list of campaign contributors to Tulsi . Lots of people from that “cult” and many who have changed their names.

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