A state jury Thursday was unable to find that the surviving driver in a fatal, head-on collision in Kahaluu was drunk at the time of the 2016 crash.
The jury found Joshua Thompson, 24, guilty of two counts of second-degree negligent homicide.
Thompson had been charged with two counts of first-degree negligent homicide for causing the July 1, 2016, death of the other driver, 55-year-old Mark
Matsushima of Honolulu, and Matsushima’s passenger, 33-year-old Sefilina Gray of Laie, by operating a vehicle in a negligent manner while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
First-degree negligent homicide is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Instead, Thompson faces maximum five-year prison terms for each of two counts of second-degree negligent homicide at sentencing in September.
Second-degree negligent homicide does not involve alcohol or drug use on the driver’s part.
Thompson’s blood had an alcohol concentration of 0.14 and traces of the active ingredient of marijuana approximately one hour and 20 minutes after the crash. The legal threshold for drunken driving is 0.08 BAC.
State law requires police to get a sample of blood for testing from drivers involved in traffic accidents that result in death or injury.
Circuit Judge Karen Nakasone prohibited the prosecutor from presenting to the jury evidence of the blood test because Honolulu police did not secure a search warrant before ordering a sample of Thompson’s blood while he was at The Queen’s Medical Center.
Police said Thompson was speeding north on Kamehameha Highway, failed to negotiate a curve at the Waiahole Homestead Road intersection and crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic. They said Matsushima tried to avoid the crash but that the big wheels on Thompson’s raised Toyota pickup truck climbed over the top of Matsushima’s Chevrolet Corvette.
A defense expert told the jury that it was Matsushima who caused the crash by entering Thompson’s lane of travel.
