Vailale "Val" Fuiava Jr. won a bronze medal for valor while serving in the Marine Corps in Vietnam and family members considered him a "Samoan Superman," they testified in court yesterday.

But Fuiava, 53, was no match for a speeding car driven by a drunken driver.

He was killed March 31, 2007, when Sarah Whitford's car smashed into his motorcycle in Hale'iwa, knocking Fuiava 232 feet, according to Deputy Prosecutor Kristine Yoo.

Whitford, 27, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison, five years of probation and was ordered to pay $7,777.48 in restitution to Fuiava's widow, Dorcas, who tearfully asked Whitford and Circuit Judge Richard Perkins, "What is the value of a life?"

Whitford's lawyer, Michael Green, argued for probation for his client, saying she has a genetic predisposition for alcoholism through her father, a Choctaw Indian.

Whitford has been "clean and sober" for a year and has devoted much of her time to speaking to youth groups and at treatment centers about the dangers of drinking and driving, Green said.

Yoo asked Perkins to sentence Whitford to 10-years in prison, the maximum punishment for first-degree negligent homicide.

Fuiava's daughter, Lokelani Moeaveave, asked for the maximum sentence for Whitford, calling her father a hero who "is dead because of an irresponsible drunk girl."

"I do not have any pity for you," Moeaveave told Whitford. "I am angry. You haven't spent a single day in jail."

Fuiava was a father of four and grandfather of seven who was retired from the Marine Corps and served as a pastor at the Hale'iwa Evangelical Mission, his survivors said.

"He was truly loved and adored by everyone he met and above all else, he was respected," said his daughter-in-law, Keala Fuiava.

"It was not an accident. Drinking and driving and speeding are a recipe for disaster.

"What is the value of a human life? You can never understand what you have done to our family."

Fuiava's sister, Lani Pakele, said she considered her brother a "Samoan Superman" who survived two tours in Vietnam and was decorated with the Bronze Star for saving the lives of fellow Marines. He also received a Purple Heart, she said.

After serving his country and surviving a war, she said, Fuiava "was killed like an animal," Pakele said.

Dorcas Fuiava, widow of the victim, told Perkins, "Words cannot express the loss that I feel. Val was my life. He was my everything."

PRIOR DUI ARREST

Defense attorney Green noted that Whitford is now pregnant and will give birth to her child while in prison. The child will be cared for by Whitford's mother, he said.

He said Whitford "has never been in trouble" before, although prosecutor Loo said Whitford "had a prior DUI arrest" in California in 2005.

Whitford told Perkins, "I am truly sorry for my accident" and said she "wanted so much to trade my life" for Fuiava's.

The night she hit Fuiava, Whitford was driving her car at 56 to 77 mph in a 25-mph zone, and her blood alcohol level an hour after the accident was 0.20 — nearly triple the legal limit, Yoo said.

Whitford smashed into Fuiava's motorcycle from behind and the impact knocked him out of his socks and shoes, Yoo said. Although he was apparently wearing a helmet, Fuiava suffered massive head injuries, the prosecutor said.

After the impact, Whitford dragged the motorcycle under her car for another 274 feet but "she didn't stop," Yoo said.

Whitford's car finally ran into a roadside barrier and flipped over.

Yoo said Whitford "knew what she had done" because when she got out of the car, "she kept saying she was sorry."

But Whitford told Perkins she had no memory of the collision. When she woke up in the hospital and was told what had happened, "I wanted to die."

"I know I didn't do this on purpose," she said.

"I am truly sorry for my actions. I want to do everything in my power to make things better."

Perkins said before sentencing Whitford that his choices under the law were limited to a 10-year sentence or 18 months in prison and five years of probation.

He said a study of Whitford indicated she would respond well to a sentence requiring rehabilitation and restitution.

Perkins said he appreciated the "passion and eloquence" of Fuiava's family members.

"But the value of Mr. Fuiava's life is not to be measured by the sentence (of Whitford) but by the depth of your love," he said.

The sentence is identical to one handed down late last year by Family Court Judge Frances Wong in the negligent homicide case against 19-year-old Tyler Duarte. Duarte killed two women in a Waimanalo car crash in 2007.