A 70-year-old Pepeekeo man pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree negligent homicide for a fatal traffic crash in 2022.
Calvin Shimizu was indicted Wednesday by a Hilo grand jury for the June 18, 2022, collision in Pepeekeo that killed 63-year-old Joni Okino-Shiroma of Mountain View.
Shimizu was arrested Thursday on a bench warrant accompanying the indictment and remains free after posting $100,000 bail.
No trial date was set, as Stanton Oshiro, Shimizu’s attorney, said a plea deal has been made between prosecutors and his client and asked for time to put the agreement in writing.
Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota scheduled a hearing at 8 a.m. June 27 for “further proceedings.”
Police say Shimizu was driving a Hamakua-bound 2002 Dodge pickup truck on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 19) and crossed the center line while on the Waiaama Stream Bridge and struck a Hilo-bound 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by Okino-Shiroma head-on.
Okino-Shiroma was unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead at Hilo Benioff Medical Center.
Shimizu was arrested at the scene on suspicion of negligent homicide and DUI.
He was released pending further investigation and admitted to Hilo Benioff Medical Center due to the severity of his injuries.
Police said at the time they believed “speed and intoxication” to be primary factors in the collision.
Shimizu’s driver’s license was administratively revoked the day of the fatal collision, with a notation that the cause was alcohol.
Okino-Shiroma’s husband, Max Shiroma, and sons, Mitchell and Randy Shiroma, sued Shimizu in November 2022 seeking unspecified monetary damages.
The complaint accuses Shimizu of “driving under the influence,” as well as “failing to keep a safe look out, failing to maintain control of his vehicle, failing to maintain a safe distance” and being “otherwise negligent in the operation of his vehicle.”
It further alleges Shimizu’s conduct was “with such malice and entire want of care as to imply a criminal indifference to (his) civil obligations or … a conscious indifference for the consequences of (his) actions.”
A court date of July 1 has been set in the civil lawsuit, although records indicate a settlement in that case either has been reached or is close.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
