KEALAKEKUA — A Kona Circuit Court judge deemed Justin Rohan not criminally responsible for a fatal 2015 wreck and ordered he remain in custody at the Hawaii State Hospital on Oahu.
The judge’s decision drops the negligent homicide charges, giving little comfort to the family of the husband and father killed in the crash.
“We have to find peace and some closure,” said Lina Weinstock, widow of Robert Brian Weinstock, after Thursday’s proceedings. “And now we move forward as a family.”
Three doctor reports submitted to the court unanimously concluded the 29-year-old was fit to proceed to trial, however, he was not mentally fit at the time of the August 2015 crash that killed Weinstock, 52, of Kailua-Kona. Judge Melvin Fujino fell in line with the doctors reports and acquitted Rohan.
“We don’t contest the facts, but do contest the person’s state of mind at the time of the incident,” defense counsel Ann Datta said after Thursday’s bench trial.
In November 2016, a grand jury indicted Rohan on second-degree negligent homicide, reckless driving and driving without a license in connection with the two-car collision on Kaiminani Drive. In August 2017, Fujino found Rohan unfit to stand trial and committed him to the state hospital.
Fujino set a review hearing for May 18 to check on Rohan’s progress.
Deputy prosecutor Kauanoe Jackson said the case will be reviewed periodically with the court.
Rohan reportedly was driving a green 2007 Ford pickup truck west on Kaiminani Drive when he crossed the center line near Laui Street and crashed head-on into a 2003 Nissan SUV driven by Robert Weinstock early Aug. 3, 2015, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Both drivers were taken to Kona Community Hospital, where Weinstock was pronounced dead at 1:29 a.m.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.