The motorist who caused the fiery crash that killed a Honolulu police officer on the H-1 freeway was found guilty Thursday of a misdemeanor.
Deputy Prosecutor Adrian Dhakhwa had urged the jurors to find Scott Frederick Ebert, 45, of Mili- lani guilty of manslaughter, a felony, for recklessly causing the death of officer Garret Davis in 2012.
Davis, 28, died in his patrol car, just past the Kaonohi Street overpass in Aiea. He had stopped in the fast lane to protect a vehicle that was stalled because of a blown tire.
The airbag control module in Ebert’s vehicle indicated that the full-size pickup truck was traveling at 83 mph and that Ebert did not brake before slamming into the back of the patrol car. A motorist who saw the crash testified that she did not see the truck’s brake lights illuminate.
A state jury found the motorist guilty of negligent homicide, a misdemeanor. Ebert faces a maximum one-year jail term at sentencing in August.
He would have faced a 20-year prison term if convicted of manslaughter.
Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha said the department was disappointed with the verdict.
“This tragedy is a painful reminder of how dangerous police work is. Officer Davis was on a routine mail run when he stopped to help stranded motorists,” Kealoha said.
Ebert’s lawyer, Emmanuel Tipon, told jurors that the control module data are wrong. Another motorist testified she did see the truck’s brake lights before impact.
Tipon also said the control module indicated that Ebert was not wearing his seat belt, whereas crash scene photographs clearly show that the seat belt was buckled. However, one expert testified that 83 mph is within the speed range he calculated using other crash information, indicating the control module was accurate.
Tipon says Ebert is pleased with the verdict but remains mindful of what happened on the freeway four years ago.
“He is broken up, certainly, about the fact that he was involved in an accident that led to officer Garret Davis’ death,” he said.
Witnesses testified that Ebert’s pickup truck threw Davis’ patrol car into the air and forward, spinning the car around. They also said the car immediately caught fire.
Other witnesses said they tried to remove Davis from the burning car, but the flames were too hot.
The Honolulu medical examiner said Davis died on impact.
Three months later, in response to Davis’ death and the September 2011 traffic-stop death of Honolulu police officer Eric Fontes, Hawaii lawmakers approved legislation that requires motorists to slow down and change lanes, if necessary, when approaching an emergency vehicle that is stopped on the road.
In 2014 Davis’ sister, as personal representative of her brother’s estate, sued the federal government because Ebert was on his way to the airport at the time of the crash to catch a flight to the mainland for Air Force Reserve training. A fellow reservist testified that Ebert was supposed to already be at the airport when the crash happened.
