HawaiiNewsNow: Maximum sentence handed to sergeant in hit and run »
A state judge sentenced the hit-and-run driver who killed 18-year-old bicyclist Zachary Manago to the maximum 10-year prison term Thursday for leaving the scene of the fatal traffic accident in 2010.
In addition, Circuit Judge Edward H. Kubo Jr. ordered Army Sgt. Douglas Curtis to pay Manago’s mother $4,233 for her son’s funeral expenses and to pay $500 into a state special fund for neurotrauma victims.
Curtis, 26, has until May 25 to turn himself in to begin serving his prison sentence.
The Hawaii Paroling Authority will decide how much time Curtis must spend behind bars before he is eligible for parole.
Curtis is also facing discharge from the Army because he cannot remain in the military with a felony conviction, his lawyer Jonathan Burge said.
Curtis and his father left the courtroom without comment.
Burge said he was surprised by the sentence.
"He did come forward, he took responsibility. Basically it’s the same sentence he would have gotten — the maximum sentence — if he went to trial and put the family through all the trauma," he said.
Curtis pleaded no contest and asked Kubo for an opportunity to avoid a conviction and a chance to clear the charge from his criminal record by deferring his plea.
Kubo said he couldn’t do that. Not only did Curtis flee the scene, Kubo said, he did not return or report the incident to police. And it was Manago’s friends and fellow cyclists who found Curtis’ damaged sport utility vehicle three days later.
"That was not only reckless; that was callous and disrespectful," Kubo told Curtis.
Curtis told police he thought he had hit a pig or a small animal and didn’t notice the damage to his SUV.
The damage included a cracked windshield, cracked headlight, dents and scratches on the front bumper, a broken fender and wheel well cover and broken vehicle parts left at the point of impact.
Manago’s mother, Daphne Manago, said she was glad she had the opportunity to see and hear from Curtis, who apologized to Zachary Manago’s family and friends in the courtroom.
"I think he was really sorry and very remorseful. So I just have mixed emotions right now," she said.
Zachary Manago and a group of his friends were on an overnight, around-the-island bike ride Dec. 17, 2010, when Curtis’ sport utility vehicle hit Manago from behind on Kamehameha Highway near the entrance to the Leilehua Golf Course.
Prosecutor Scott Bell said police estimate Curtis’ vehicle was traveling 51 to 58 mph, faster than the posted 35 mph speed limit, when it hit Manago, throwing him 150 feet forward onto a grassy embankment.
Burge said the area of the incident is dark, with no street light, and a police report said Manago was riding one foot inside the traffic lane rather than on the shoulder of the roadway.
Bell said Manago was wearing a helmet and that his bicycle had front and rear lights.
State law directs bicyclists to ride as close to the right-hand curb, or on the roadway shoulder, as practicable.
