A Kona grand jury indicted a 44-year-old Mountain View man for the death of a Kona woman in a bizarre traffic crash more than 2 1/2 years ago in Kailua-Kona.
The indictment returned Sept. 8 charges Gary Fujii with a single count of second-degree negligent homicide for the death of 42-year-old Sheila Goto of Keopu on Feb. 9, 2012.
Fujii was the driver of a Leleiwi Electric Inc. utility truck traveling west at about 9:30 a.m. on Kaiminani Drive that day. Police said at the time the truck’s utility bucket lift apparently snagged a utility line, causing the truck to topple onto its driver’s side and slide down the road several yards before it struck and crushed a silver 2011 Ford F250 pickup truck driven by Goto.
The indictment states that Fujii operated the company vehicle “in a negligent manner.”
“I’m not going to get into a lot of detail about that,” Deputy Prosecutor Kimberly Taniyama said Monday. “The truck was being operated with the boom in the up position.”
Goto, a florist who owned and operated Sheila’s Flowers, was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead less than three hours later. She and one of her passengers were wearing seat belts, police said.
Two passengers in her truck, a 37-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman, both of Kailua-Kona, were able to get out of the vehicle and were walking prior to being taken to the hospital, where they were treated for their injuries and released, according to police.
Fujii, who police said was not wearing a seat belt, also was taken to the hospital, where he was initially admitted in stable condition with a possible head injury.
The crash closed Kaiminani Drive between Laui Street and Ane Keohokalole Highway for almost six hours while police investigated and cleared the scene.
A bench warrant was issued for Fujii’s arrest. His bail was set at $10,000.
Second-degree negligent homicide is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.