A 38-year-old Kailua-Kona man was slated Tuesday to begin serving a three-month jail sentence in connection with a Jan. 9 Kalaoa accident in which police say he ran over his 3-year-old son.
A 38-year-old Kailua-Kona man was slated Tuesday to begin serving a three-month jail sentence in connection with a Jan. 9 Kalaoa accident in which police say he ran over his 3-year-old son.
Pedro Johanes Peter pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal June 13 to third-degree negligent homicide, driving without a license, failure to have no-fault motor vehicle insurance and three counts failure to have child restraints in connection with the accident before 3rd Circuit Court Chief Judge Ronald Ibarra in Kealakekua.
He was sentenced the same day to serve six months in jail, with all but three months suspended, pay $1,161 in fines and fees, complete a parenting class, learn how to properly use a child passenger restraint, and perform community service to include ten 15- to 20-minute presentations to the Marshallese and Micronesian communities on the proper use of child passenger restraints. His license was also suspended for 90 days.
In addition, Peter received a one-year deferred acceptance of his plea to the negligent homicide charge, meaning if all conditions of the sentence are met, the court shall later dismiss the charge against the defendant.
The child, Joel Peter, died at 6:43 p.m. Jan. 9 after he was apparently run over by a pickup truck driven by Pedro Peter, near the Matsuyama Food Mart driveway off Mamalahoa Highway, according to the Hawaii Police Department. The father unknowingly struck the youngster who had fallen out of the truck’s cab after the boy’s sister had apparently opened the rear passenger door, police said.
Pedro Peter then drove his son to Kona Community Hospital, which was the first entity to contact emergency officials about the incident, according to police. No others were injured.
Peter had faced manslaughter, driving without a license, failure to have no-fault motor vehicle insurance, four counts of failure to have a child restraint and three counts second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor in connection with the accident following a Jan. 29 grand jury indictment.