Hawaii Supreme Court clears way for trial in officer-involved Makaha crash case

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii Supreme Court has cleared the way for a criminal trial against Honolulu police officers connected to a 2021 chase and crash in Makaha that critically injured six people, including a teenager who was paralyzed from the waist down.

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The court’s opinion rejected the officers’ request to dismiss the charges on a technicality.

How the crash happened

On Sept. 12, 2021, a white Honda carrying six people rolled in a Makaha field and slammed into a wall. All six suffered critical injuries.

Witnesses said the sedan was being chased by an unmarked, subsidized HPD vehicle and two marked patrol cars all running without lights or sirens.

Surveillance video backed up those accounts but the HPD vehicles were not at the scene to render aid after the crash.

What officers were charged with

In March 2023, Honolulu police officers Joshua Nahulu, Erik Smith, Jake Bartolome, and Robert Lewis III were charged with hindering prosecution and conspiracy to commit hindering prosecution, facing up to 5 years in prison.

Nahulu had an additional felony charge for a collision involving death or serious bodily injury, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The defense appealed that charge to the state high court arguing it should be thrown out, because Nahulu’s subsidized SUV never made physical contact with the white Honda. The defense pointed to the absence of paint transfer and a crash expert who said there was no contact.

“The defense was trying to argue that, well, hey, we never hit the other car, so we weren’t involved in the collision. Therefore, we don’t have to stop,” said Victor Bakke, a defense attorney and former deputy city prosecutor.

Court: Officers had duty to stop and render aid

The state Supreme Court disagreed. In its opinion handed down on July 2, the court pointed out that almost every state using the Uniform Vehicle Code has held that being ‘involved in’ a collision does not require physical contact.

The court called it “common sense that a driver, especially a police officer, who chases a car that crashes, must stop and render aid.” Justices ruled the statute is not unconstitutionally vague in Nahulu’s case.

Bakke said the ruling broadens how the law is applied.

“The legislature can’t write a statute to cover every possible situation. So this covers the scenarios where if somebody runs somebody off the road, but they never made contact with them, this statute covers it,” he said.

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No trial date has been set. That is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Department discipline

In 2024, the Honolulu Police Department fired officers Nahulu, Smith, and Bartolome.

The fourth officer, Lewis, was suspended but was allowed to keep his job.

The case stemmed from a noise complaint. The officers were called to the Maili Beach Park in the early morning hours to break up a party.

Witnesses said some of the teens jumped into the white Honda because they didn’t have rides home when HPD told everyone to leave.

Body camera videos show the driver of the Honda honked his horn and that prompted one officer to start following. Videos were then turned off, so the alleged chase and crash were not recorded.

Civil settlements total $24M from taxpayers

The city has settled three separate civil lawsuits stemming from the Makaha crash with taxpayers funding a total of $24 million.

Jonaven Perkins-Sinapati, the driver of the white sedan, received $12.5 million. He suffered severe brain damage and other injuries in the crash.

Months after the deal was made, in August 2025, the Waianae resident was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for firearms and drug trafficking offenses.

In February 2023, the city settled with four other passengers for $4.5 million to cover severe injuries, including one teen who lost an eye.

The other teen who was paralyzed settled for $7 million. The boy who was 15 years old at the time of the crash, had years of physical therapy before regaining his ability to walk.

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