Sentence reduced in manslaughter case
SANDPOINT — A Washington state woman who accidentally killed a cyclist participating in an interstate relay race was granted a reduced sentence Friday against the wishes of the victim’s family and the prosecution.
Bowdeen S. Kahuhu was charged with vehicular manslaughter after crashing her minivan into Patricia Ann Lambie, who was chaperoning a teenage runner in the relay race on Highway 41 in Blanchard on Aug. 14, 2010.
Kahuhu, a 31-year-old from Newport, was initially charged with manslaughter at the felony level. But after reviewing evidence in the case, the state reduced the charge to a misdemeanor. Kahuhu’s breath-alcohol concentration was less than 0.04, well below the legal limit to drive.
Kahuhu was apparently driving in a sleep-deprived state. It was divulged on Friday that she was returning from a roller derby bout and after party in Kootenai County when the 6:30 a.m. collision occurred. Lambie, a 46-year-old from Greeacres, Wash., was killed and the teen-aged girl suffered a leg fracture and other injuries.
Kahuhu pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor manslaughter charge and Judge Barbara Buchanan and imposed the maximum sentence of a year in jail last November. Kahuhu apparently expected to be sentenced to time served because she made no arrangements prior to the hearing to have her eight children looked after.
Kahuhu’s post-conviction defense counsel, Val Thornton, petitioned the court for a reduced sentence so she could care for her kids. Thornton called a number of character witnesses and two of Kahuhu’s children to testify.
Friends described Kahuhu as a hardworking, caring person struggling through a deeply acrimonious divorce from an abusive husband. They further testified that Kahuhu’s children have suffered because of their mother’s absence.
The children testified to the abuse that they and their mother endured.
Kahuhu also testified, telling the court she worked the graveyard shift at Newport Community Hospital and was managing to get only two or three hours of sleep for periods lasting up to four days.
“I’m not saying that I didn’t do anything wrong,” an emotional Kahuhu testified. “I feel that my children need me.”
Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon called Lambie’s mother, Lenore Trachta, to testify. She emphasized that Kahuhu’s separation from her children is only temporary, while Lambie’s separation from her kids is permanent.
“I just don’t think it’s right to commit manslaughter and then ask to be let off early,” said Trachta.
Thornton argued that the gravity of the offense is not lost on her client and an earlier release would facilitate restitution in the case because Kahuhu could regain employment.
“Her children do not deserve to be punished for this offense,” said Thornton, who added that it’s rare for a defendant with a clean record to receive the maximum sentence.
But Hanlon urged the court to consider the impact of Kahuhu’s conduct on Lambie, her children and her parents. He also pointed out that the charge was anything but a garden variety offense.
“This is not an ordinary case. This is a case where somebody’s life was taken,” he said.
Buchanan agreed the case was atypical and said she was not entirely convinced of Kahuhu’s remorse at sentencing because she did not anticipate to be incarcerated further. Buchanan added that while Lambie children have undoubtedly suffered, she suspected Lambie was not the type of person who wished to see Kahuhu’s children suffer.
“I’m trying to balance those two interests,” said Buchanan, who halved Kahuhu’s sentence to six months.
The sentence modification leaves Kahuhu with 78 days left to serve. Buchanan also placed her on two years of supervised probation, a condition which was absent when the sentence was originally imposed.
After the hearing, Lenore and Ray Trachta said they were displeased to see a reduction in the custodial sentence, but found some solace in the added probation. They believe the case still could have been successfully prosecuted at the felony level.