Lawsuit filed against city, state for negligence in crash that injured surfer Dakota Briley
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A North Shore surfer who was severely injured when he was pinned between two vehicles after a crash has filed a lawsuit against the city and the state.
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The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Circuit Court alleges that Dakota Briley was put in harm’s way because the city and state did not provide a safe parking area near some of the island’s busiest beaches.
“Using the roadside, the shoulder of Kamehameha Highway, as a parking area for some of their most popular parks is dangerous. And they haven’t done anything about it,” said Briley family attorney Mike Cruise.
That includes the stretch near Kawailoa Beach, also known as Chun’s Reef, where Briley was preparing to teach a surfing lesson about a year ago when he was hit by an 18-year-old driver and pinned between two vehicles.
“The governments, both the city and state, have long acknowledged that this is an unsafe situation and have just decided to keep kicking the can down the road,” Cruise said.
The area is close to Laniakea Beach, where the state has built new parking and crosswalks. Cruise said similar safety measures should have been made at Kawailoa, where beachgoers park on the highway shoulder.
“The state has acknowledged that these need to be treated as one area,” Cruise said. “For reasons that are not clear, they only dealt with half of it.”
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Briley spent nearly two months in the ICU at The Queen’s Medical Center, and is now undergoing more treatment on the mainland.
Last month, he wrote on his family’s GoFundMe page, “I am medically stable and have been for a while now. I’m continuing to focus on my recovery, rehabilitation, getting stronger, working out, and healing.”
“Dakota is an unbelievable young man, and his spirit is radiant,” said Cruise. “And that really gets them — it really helps them,” he added, referring to Briley’s family.
Briley’s parents, Natasha Maunalani Briley and Shawn Briley, are also named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The driver of the vehicle that hit Briley was also named as a defendant.
Under Hawaii rules, the lawsuit doesn’t ask for any specific amount in damages, but it notes that Briley’s medical and rehabilitation expenses are “in excess of $3,500,000″ so far.
“Unfortunately, we know that we have a 20-year-old, now 21-year-old young man who has a lifetime of needs ahead of him,” said Cruise.
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