Pickup truck driver not guilty of vehicular homicide

A Superior Court jury has found the driver of a pickup truck not guilty of vehicular homicide in the death of his 15-year-old nephew who died after falling from the back of the truck in August last year.

After deliberating for about three hours, the jurors reached a unanimous verdict finding 21-year-old Vincent Felix Lieto Fitial not guilty of vehicular homicide.

The jurors reached the verdict after finding that Fitial did not violate the traffic infractions of reckless driving, operating a pickup truck with people sitting in bed of truck when there was seating available in the cab of the vehicle, and driving on right side of highway.

Superior Court associate judge David A. Wiseman, who also had to rule on the three traffic violations, found the defendant guilty onwo counts-sitting in bed of truck and driving on right side of highway. Wiseman, however, found Fitial not guilty of reckless driving.

As Fitial did not dispute the four other counts, Wiseman found him guilty of the charges. The four charges are driving without a driver’s license, driving a motor vehicle without a vehicle registration card, operating a motor vehicle without having the vehicle registered or safety inspected, and operating a vehicle without liability insurance.

For driving without an driver’s license, Wiseman sentenced Fitial to 30 days in prison, all suspended, and placed him on six months or probation and required him to pay a $500 fine.

For the remaining charges, the judge ordered Fitial to pay a total of $525 in fine and probation fee.

Michael Evangelista, counsel for Fitial, told the media after the hearing that they are very pleased with the verdict and are very thankful to the jurors, the judge, and court staff.

“Overall we thank God for the very nice verdict. This is a tragic incident as we have stated from the beginning. It was just an unavoidable accident, we maintained that from the very beginning,” Evangelista said. Viola Alepuyo is Evangelista’s co-counsel in the case.

Assistant attorney general Nicole Driscoll said they are a bit disappointed with the result.

“But this case is more than just about this defendant. We are hoping that this will raise the level of awareness maybe in the Commonwealth about the dangers of riding in the back seat of pickup trucks,” Driscoll said.

Driscoll said they are hoping that people will be more careful in the future and be more aware of the law.

Assistant attorney general Shelli Neal also served as counsel for the government in the case.

Wilben Herman Lieto fell from the truck on Aug. 31, 2011, on a dirt road in Tanapag. He died the following day due to head injuries.

Witnesses said there were three of them, including Lieto, in the back of the truck being driven by Fitial.

The group had just attended a family member’s funeral at Tanapag Cemetery. They were on their way home when the accident happened.

One witness estimated that the truck was traveling at least 20 miles per hour and Fitial avoided two potholes on the road.

Witnesses said as Lieto was spitting over the car’s edge when he fell down when the truck hit the second pothole.