HILO, Hawai'i — Marie P. Kaleiwahea's son was killed in a traffic wreck caused by a 19-year-old man who tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana.

Yesterday, she tearfully asked a judge for leniency for the man convicted in her son's death.

"I loved my son, but I know, your honor, that my son also loved this boy," she said. "I cannot have vengeful feelings toward him."

Authorities said Stanley Keliiholokai was driving at speeds of 80 to 100 mph and was trying to pass cars on Volcano Highway on Aug. 19, 2004, when he collided with an oncoming vehicle.

Killed were Clinton Kaleiwahea, 31, the front-seat passenger in Keliiholokai's vehicle, and Jeannette Manahan, 53, of Elmhurst, N.Y., who was in the other car. Manahan's husband was severely injured.

Clinton Kaleiwahea was Keliiholokai's uncle.

His mother yesterday said she believes God will one day use Keliiholokai for some purpose, and asked Hilo Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura to give the man a chance to turn his life around.

Keliiholokai and Kaleiwahea then embraced, with the sobbing defendant resting his head on the woman's shoulder.

Manahan's daughter, Jeanne Jennings, urged Nakamura to impose a long sentence, pointing out that Keliiholokai tried to flee after the crash. Jennings said his actions show "he has no regard for others" and would pose a threat to the community if he is quickly released from prison.

"I, my father, my siblings and the rest of my family miss my mother terribly," Jennings said. She said her father, Rogelio Manahan, is hospitalized in New York with medical problems related to the crash.

Rogelio Manahan was driving the Chevrolet two-door sedan that was hit by Keliiholokai's vehicle. Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville said Keliiholokai, who did not have a driver's license, presented the visitor with a terrifying choice that day. As he watched the defendant's vehicle approach, Manahan had to decide whether to swerve and endanger other motorists or pedestrians, or collide with the car, jeopardizing his wife and himself.

PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES

Keliiholokai, who lived in Volcano, has a history of mental health problems, Damerville said, and would have needed a psychiatric waiver to obtain a driver's license. He did not detail what those problems were.

Defense lawyer Keith Shigetomi said only minute amounts of drugs were found in Keliiholokai's blood, and it wasn't clear whether he had been using drugs that day. Shigetomi said the drugs had no effect on the defendant's driving, and said Kaleiwahea had more methamphetamine in his system than Keliiholokai did.

"He's not raging out there on that methamphetamine," Shigetomi said.

He also disputed accounts of how fast Keliiholokai's car was going, saying the prosecutor did not present any scientific evidence to prove he was speeding.

Damerville argued for a 20-year sentence, while Shigetomi urged the judge to sentence Keliiholokai as a youthful offender, which would make him eligible for a five-year prison term.

Before sentencing, Keliiholokai said he wished he could change places with the victims. "I wish I could wake up and make it all be a dream," he said.

Addressing the families, he said: "I'm sorry for the hurt and the hate you guys must feel for me. I feel the same way."

In the end, Nakamura sentenced him to 15 years in prison, imposing three concurrent 10-year terms for two counts of first-degree negligent homicide and leaving the scene of the crash, and a consecutive five-year term for first-degree negligent injury.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.