A woman from the Boulder, Colo. area is listed as “stable” at an O‘ahu hospital, and a Kapa‘a man was arrested for negligent injury and drug and drug paraphernalia charges following a three-vehicle crash in Anahola on July 28. Michael
A woman from the Boulder, Colo. area is listed as “stable” at an O‘ahu hospital, and a Kapa‘a man was arrested for negligent injury and drug and drug paraphernalia charges following a three-vehicle crash in Anahola on July 28.
Michael Jason Gregg, 31, was arrested July 31 at approximately 11:25 a.m. According to First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Craig De Costa, a complaint was filed in district court on Aug. 1 and Gregg was scheduled for arraignment on Aug. 4. He was held in custody at the cellblock at the Kauai Police Department headquarters, and bailed out that weekend.
Police charges against Gregg include second-degree dangerous drug possession, meaning that he was allegedly in possession of more than 1/8 ounce of “ice” (crystal methamphetamine), and third-degree detrimental drug possession, meaning that he was in possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.
Accident victim Renee Berberian was transported via air ambulance to the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, and remains hospitalized with serious internal injuries.
According to a KPD official, a police investigation showed that Gregg, driving a vehicle northbound on Kuhio Highway, crossed the center line and caused a head-on collision with the Berberian party, headed south in a rental vehicle. Another vehicle then rear-ended them.
All five people involved in the crash, including Gregg, were transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where they were treated for injuries and stabilized. Except for Berberian, all have been released. Her husband and young daughter, who were also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, are staying on O‘ahu during her recovery.
A friend of the Berberians, from the San Francisco area, said in a call to The Garden Island that the family was celebrating Renee Berberians’ birthday the day of the accident.
Gregg is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 4. His case begins in district court and may proceed via a preliminary hearing because he was in custody and then posted bail. However, a grand jury may indict Gregg before the district court hearing. The grand jury is scheduled to convene on Monday, Aug. 18.
In Hawai‘i, first-degree negligent injury is defined as causing serious bodily injury to another person by the operation of a motor vehicle in a negligent manner. The offense is a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years imprisonment and fines. Second-degree negligent injury is to cause “substantial” bodily injury and is punishable by up to one year imprisonment.
Staff Writer Kendyce Manguchei can be reached at kmanguchei@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 252).
