The driver in a 2010 crash that left a West Hawaii doctor severely injured will not face charges for the collision.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kimberly Taniyama said Wednesday the office is not pursuing charges against Shakti Stream, 30, because there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a first-degree negligent injury charge.
Stream was driving a sport utility vehicle north on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, near Kekaha Kai State Park, Nov. 19, 2010, when she apparently crossed the center line. Stream’s vehicle struck head-on a southbound sedan driven by Theresa Wang of Waikoloa.
Stream’s boyfriend, former University of Hawaii and NFL quarterback Colt Brennan, was a front-seat passenger in the SUV and was also injured. Brennan spent nearly a week in an Oahu hospital. Wang spent time in a hospital on Oahu before being transferred to a rehabilitation center in Denver that specializes in brain and spinal cord injuries.
Wang said she wasn’t surprised by the lack of prosecution. Wednesday’s announcement by the prosecuting attorney’s office allows her closure from the crash.
“I think it’s my faith,” Wang said. “I could hate her, but that’s just a waste of my energy. I pity her. She has to live with what she did.”
She did ask the prosecuting attorney’s office to pursue charges, Wang said. From what she understood from investigators, witnesses were having a hard time remembering details from the collision three years ago. Stream claimed the car had a brake malfunction, which caused the head-on collision.
Overall, Wang added, she’s doing well. She has been participating in pilates and other aerobic exercise classes she said almost seem more beneficial than some of the physical therapy she previously completed.
Wang’s attorney filed a civil lawsuit against Stream in January 2011 seeking special and general damages for the costs and interest. Wang said she had since dropped the lawsuit, which was filed while seeking a settlement from Stream’s insurance provider.
