LIHU‘E – The Hawai‘i Supreme Court denied a petition this week for a man seeking to overturn convictions in a 2017 Kaua‘i manslaughter case.
LIHU‘E – The Hawai‘i Supreme Court denied a petition this week for a man seeking to overturn convictions in a 2017 Kaua‘i manslaughter case.
On the night of April 27, 2017, while driving a stolen truck on Kuhio Highway near the intersection of the south end of the Kapa‘a Bypass Road, Cody Safadago crossed the center line and crashed head-on with a sedan being driven by 19-year-old Kayla Huddy-Lemn.
She died from injuries incurred in the collision.
Safadago fled on foot after the collision and was quickly apprehended by Kaua‘i Police Department Officer Michael Buratti.
KPD Traffic Safety Unit Officer Shawn Hanna determined that Safadago was traveling at approximately 88 miles per hour when he collided with Ms. Huddy-Lemn’s sedan.
“While there is nothing we can do to undo the harm done by this defendant and the loss suffered by the loved ones of Ms. Huddy-Lemn, we hope that today’s decision by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court brings some comfort to her family, friends and the Kaua‘i community,” Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Like said in a statement Wednesday.”We are pleased that this individual will remain in prison where he cannot cause further harm.”
Safadago was convicted of Manslaughter, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle, Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of an Intoxicant after a 2019 jury trial held before Fifth Circuit Judge Randal G.B. Valenciano.
After the jury found Safadago guilty, the prosecution, led by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney H. Ramsey Ross and former Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sean Van DeMark, sought and received an extended sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole for Safadago.
He has been in the custody of KPD or the Hawai‘i Department of Public Safety since the night of the collision.
