A judge has sentenced a 21-year-old Kailua-Kona man to 20 years for a 2022 traffic crash that took the life of a 63-year-old woman.
Kona Circuit Judge Kimberly Tsuchiya also ordered Trevor Shoemaker-Hassey to pay a crime victim compensation fee of $105, plus $13,526,14 in restitution to Steven Freedman, husband of Rhonda Dee Freedman. The Kailua-Kona woman died shortly after the July 14, 2022, collision at the intersection of Mamalahoa Highway (Route 190) and Kahikina Place.
Shoemaker-Hassey pleaded no contest to manslaughter Aug. 12 as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors dropped charges of first-degree negligent homicide, second-degree reckless endangering, DUI, DUI under 21, reckless driving, harassment and promoting intoxicating compounds.
He will receive credit for time already served.
Shoemaker-Hassey was 19 and under the influence of alcohol and Xanax when the rented white 2019 Nissan Rogue he was driving crossed double-solid yellow lines on Mamalahoa Highway and struck Rhonda Dee Freedman’s 2018 Nissan Versa head on.
Freedman was alone in her car. Shoemaker-Hassey and his then-17-year-old female passenger weren’t injured in the collision.
Tsuchiya had the option of sentencing Shoemaker-Hassey as a youthful offender, in which case an eight-year prison sentence would be the maximum. Shoemaker-Hassey was also eligible for probation.
During a Nov. 4 hearing in which sentencing was delayed for a more complete accounting of the restitution amount, Steven Freedman told the judge Shoemaker-Hassey has shown no remorse and should be sentenced to the maximum 20 years. He called Shoemaker-Hassey “a reckless danger on our roads.”
Shoemaker-Hassey also spoke during that hearing, telling Freedman’s family he is “truly sorry” for “the pain I have inflicted upon you” and to Tsuchiya he takes “full accountability” for the “irrevocable damage” he’s done.
Tsuchiya told Shoemaker-Hassey she had concerns about a statement he made to the Probation Office that he didn’t “recall being reckless, crossing the center line.” The judge said his statement is not that “of someone who is taking full responsibility.”
Since the fatal crash, Shoemaker-Hassey — then free on $75,000 bail — was arrested in Kailua-Kona on July 19, 2023, on suspicion of DUI, driving after his license was suspended for DUI, and driving without insurance.
He was released from custody pending further investigation, and those charges haven’t been filed.
In addition, Shoemaker-Hassey was arrested on Sept. 17, 2023, on suspicion of driving after his license was suspended for DUI and third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.
According to a motion to revoke his bail filed in October 2023 by prosecutors, Shoemaker-Hassey was pulled over by police near the Triangle Park parking lot on Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona after officers spotted him driving with “an unconscious female passenger in his vehicle, who was later determined to be suffering from an overdose related to opiate use.”
Also since the collision, Shoemaker-Hassey was cited or arrested for the following offenses, and later convicted: using electronic mobile device while driving on Oct. 12, 2022; speeding at 69 mph in a 55 mph zone on Oct. 23, 2022; inattention to driving, driving left of center and disregarding a solid white line on Oct. 27, 2022; and reckless driving and disregarding solid white and solid yellow lines on Dec. 1, 2022.
Steven Freedman and the couple’s four adult children have filed a wrongful death civil suit against Shoemaker-Hassey and his parents, plus Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company of Hawaii, seeking more than $14 million in damages.
In addition, Steven Freedman has also launched a petition through Change.org and a personal website, Rhondawouldgo.com, to establish a level one trauma center in Kona. The only level one trauma center in the state is at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. Both Kona Community Hospital and Hilo Benioff Medical Center provide level three trauma care. Between the two websites, his petition has, to date, garnered more than 1,000 signatures.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.