The driver of a Zodiac boat who fatally struck a popular waterman and injured another man earlier this year off Kailua Beach has not been charged in connection with the incident, but the victim’s family is moving forward with a lawsuit.

The family of Sri Shim filed the suit against the driver, Sai Hansen, in Circuit Court on Monday.

The plaintiffs are Shim’s three daughters — Lauren Kawahakui, Alyson Shim and Meleana Shim — and Shim’s hanai son, Trey Albrecht, who was also injured in the boating incident.

The family’s attorney, Mark Davis of Davis Levin Livingston, said Shim’s three daughters have been “devastated” by their father’s death.

“They were very, very close to their father,” Davis said. “They are in the process of healing, but they are committed to finding all the underlying facts to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”

He said the family decided to move forward with the lawsuit despite Hansen not being charged so they could “investigate what occurred.” The lawsuit allows the family to subpoena witnesses for testimony.

Shim, 59, of Kailua, was killed Jan. 9 while free-diving with Albrecht, who was then 25, about 500 feet off Kailua Beach, on the east side of Flat Island. The two divers were in 8 to 10 feet of water and were near their two-man kayak, which had a bright orange dive buoy attached to it, the lawsuit said.

Davis said Hansen was “driving recklessly in an area heavily populated by people,” and the victims were doing “precisely what they were expected to do in an area where there is spear fishing.”

According to the suit, Hansen did not have a license at the time he was speeding in the 24-foot Zodiac with twin 90-horsepower motors.

Albrecht heard the boat approaching and looked up in time to see the boat almost on him. He ducked and curled into a ball just as the boat ran over him, and was struck by the propeller, which sliced open his arm and left him bleeding heavily in the water.

He didn’t know what happened to Shim.

Albrecht yelled at Hansen for assistance, and Hansen turned the boat around and picked him up.

Despite Albrecht telling him Shim was still in the water, Hansen drove him to shore without searching for Shim. Hours later a search team recovered Shim’s body from the ocean floor.

Davis said it is legal to operate a boat in that area, but it must be done in a manner safe for the swimmers and fishermen in the water.

Hansen and his lawyer, Howard Luke, could not be reached for comment.

Hansen was cited the day of the incident for operating a boat without a license, but a judge dismissed the citation at the prosecutor’s request in February. A prosecutor’s office spokesman said the case is still under investigation.

Hansen could face a negligent-homicide charge, according to state law.

Witnesses said Hansen has a history of driving carelessly and recklessly in the waters off Kailua, the lawsuit said.

“We think it’s part of a pattern of conduct,” Davis said.