Family asks OAG to revisit case vs driver of truck where boy fell

The family of the driver of the pickup truck where a 15-year-old boy fell and later died is asking the Office of the Attorney General to revisit the case before proceeding to trial, according to attorney James N. Camacho yesterday.

Camacho told Saipan Tribune that a tragic case like this requires the OAG’s understanding.

Superior Court associate judge David A. Wiseman has set the jury trial of 21-year-old Vincent Lieto Fitial on Dec. 12, 2011.

Assistant attorney general Nicole Driscoll appeared for the government. Defense attorneys Viola Alepuyo and Michael Evangelista represented Fitial at the hearing.

Family members of Fitial, including the parents of the deceased boy, also came to court to show their support for the defendant.

Camacho, who is also co-counsel for Fitial, said that the OAG refused a plea bargain for the defendant and has asked for a jury trial.

Camacho said the defendant’s family is appealing to the OAG to review the case thoroughly, considering that there was no speeding and alcohol involved.

The OAG had filed nine charges, including homicide by vehicle, against Fitial.

Fitial, the uncle of the deceased boy, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Evangelista earlier stated that the case is a plain and simple unfortunate accident that occurred mere moments after the family buried one of their own. In fact, Evangelista said, this accident occurred while the family was in the process of leaving the cemetery.

The boy fell from the back of a pickup truck on Aug. 31 and died the following day.

At the time, the OAG would not release the boy’s body to the family from the Commonwealth Health Center’s morgue until an autopsy is conducted.

This prompted the parents of the boy, Annjuliet Marie Lieto Lifoifoi and Joseph Lifoifoi, to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would prohibit the government from performing an autopsy. The couple, through counsels, asserted that their Refaluwash cultural beliefs will be violated by an autopsy. They also asked the court to order the release of their son’s body to them so they may lay him to rest.

Associate judge David Wiseman granted the parents’ motions.

The judge ruled that falling from a truck is not an unusual circumstance and the cause of death is readily ascertainable, so that an autopsy is not proper. Wiseman said it is undisputed that the boy’s death was caused by head injuries.