LIHUE — The family of a woman struck and killed by an SUV last year has reached a $1.1 million settlement in a wrongful death suit against an 83-year-old Kalaheo man. Chief Judge Randal Valenciano of the 5th Circuit on
LIHUE — The family of a woman struck and killed by an SUV last year has reached a $1.1 million settlement in a wrongful death suit against an 83-year-old Kalaheo man.
Chief Judge Randal Valenciano of the 5th Circuit on Tuesday granted a petition filed by the estate of the late Jill Garnett, 26, of Waimea, for authority to compromise a claim without opposition from the defendant, Robert Wayne Yount.
The decision came with the agreement of the Younts’ attorneys and his insurer, State Farm, said Daniel Hempey, attorney for the Garnett estate, in court. The settlement means the civil case will be dismissed.
“I am happy that this case was able to be resolved for the closure this brings to all involved,” Hempey said.
Yount, who is in custody at the Hawaii State Hospital, is represented by private defense attorney James Valdemar Myhre of the Honolulu firm of Myhre Tsuchida & Mash. He was not in court for the hearing and unable to be reached for comment.
Garnett was walking west on the eastbound shoulder of Kaumualii Highway near the Kipu Road junction in Puhi when a Mazda MPVH, driven by Yount, drove off the road shortly before 9 a.m. on March 16, 2013, and struck her. She died as a result of her injuries.
A civil case was filed against Yount by the Garnett estate, represented by Jill’s mother Kim Garnett and siblings on Oct. 16. The settlement negotiations went before Judge Valenciano in probate court before there were hearings in the civil case.
If there is any lesson from this case then it is to be fully insured, Hempey said. The amount of insurance that the Younts had on their vehicle and home included an umbrella policy, which encouraged the settlement process.
Yount was indicted on criminal charges including first-degree negligent homicide for the Garnett death in November. Reportedly suffering from dementia, he was found unfit to proceed to stand trial in March. Valenciano, also the judge in the criminal case, ordered Yount committed to the custody of the state director of health and to be placed in a facility for detention, care, and treatment.
The court heard testimony from doctors from the Hawaii State Hospital in June. Valenciano determined that Yount is not likely restorable as to fitness for trial and ordered a status hearing concerning civil commitment procedures on Sept. 25. Without further proceedings in the case, the progressive dementia, and status of dangerousness to himself and others, it is possible that Yount will be held in a secure hospital environment for the rest of his life.
The dangerousness status was upheld in part because of an additional attempted murder charge for shooting a weapon in the direction of police officers attempting to serve Yount with a criminal indictment in the Garnett case at his home on Nov. 18.
“This is a tragic case for everyone involved,” said County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of Jill Garnett, and also with the police officers who Mr. Yount shot at.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Yount has proven himself very dangerous to those around him, and he will likely spend the rest of his life in a secured hospital setting,” Kollar added. “Our thoughts also go out to Mr. Yount’s family as this must be extraordinarily difficult for them as well.”
The family of Garnett includes her mother Kim, an elder brother Joseph, and a younger brother, David, of Huntington Beach, California. Jill Garnett attended school on Kauai and was a graduate of the Junior Lifeguard program and was employed as a tour scheduler for Na Pali Explorer. Garnett had lived on Kauai for six years at the time of her death. She was not married and didn’t have any children.
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Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0424 or by emailing tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
