A 30-year-old Pahoa man who on March 7 pleaded no contest to drunken driving was involved in a fatal collision March 15 in Hilo and arrested again on DUI and other charges, according to a police log.
Mark Erik Soto was the driver of a southbound Toyota truck police say rear-ended a 2017 Ford sedan and then sideswiped a 2017 Nissan SUV on Kanoelehua Avenue near the Kekuanaoa Street intersection.
The crash apparently resulted in the death of 88-year-old Thelma J. McLamore of San Antonio, a backseat passenger in the Ford. McLamore died at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, where she was flown for treatment of her injuries.
Soto was arrested at the scene of the crash and charged with DUI, driving after his license was revoked and driving without insurance. He was released from custody after posting $1,525 bail and is scheduled to appear in court April 11.
In addition, police initiated a negligent homicide investigation after McLamore died.
The driver of the Ford sedan, a 58-year old woman from Pearland, Texas, was treated and released at Hilo Medical Center, and the driver of the Nissan SUV, a 49-year old Hilo resident, wasn’t injured.
Eight days before the fatal wreck, Soto pleaded no contest to DUI and driving with an improper driver’s license for an Oct. 26 arrest, according to court records. He was fined $500 for the DUI and $100 for the license charge and assessed a $100 DUI driver education fee, $60 in crime victim fees, a $25 neurotrauma surcharge and $7 driver education assessment fee. He also was ordered to undergo substance abuse assessment and treatment.
A charge of driving without insurance was dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Officer Keith Nacis at 961-8119. Those who prefer anonymity can call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
McLamore’s death is the sixth official traffic fatality this year, compared to five at this time last year. There also have been three vehicular deaths this year that don’t count toward the official total because two occurred on private property and the other in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
