Police seek dismissal of Hilo teen wrongful-death lawsuit

For Hilo residents, the question now is whether Samuel Mwarey’s death will be tested in court on the facts, or cut short on legal grounds before a jury ever hears it. The Hawaii Police Department and Officer Nicole Kanaka‘ole-Ioane are asking Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota to grant summary judgment and dismiss the wrongful-death lawsuit tied to the 16-year-old Hilo High School junior who was struck by a blue-and-white police car on Kapiolani Street.

The motion is set for hearing at 8:30 a.m. June 23 in Hilo Circuit Court. If Kubota grants it, the case could be narrowed or dismissed before trial. If he denies it, the family’s claims against the county and the officer would continue, keeping the death of Samuel “Sammy” Mwarey in the public eye and preserving a path for scrutiny of how HPD handled the collision and its aftermath.

Police said Mwarey was hit at about 10:24 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2024, on Kapiolani Street between Mohouli and West Lanikaula streets in Hilo. The department later said the boy, identified as Samuel Mwarey of Hilo, died early Monday morning, Jan. 8, 2024, at Hilo Medical Center. In February 2024, hundreds attended final services, and loved ones turned part of the street into a memorial they called Sammy’s Road.

The civil complaint was filed May 21, 2024, in Hilo Circuit Court by attorney Hannah McKee on behalf of Asuncion Mwarey, Wilfred “Waion” Prens and Stan Mwarey. The family has alleged negligence by Kanaka‘ole-Ioane. The county has denied that Mwarey was in the bicycle lane on a skateboard and was struck suddenly and without warning, and it has argued in court papers that Mwarey’s own actions or an unavoidable accident caused the injuries. A June 2024 filing also said the county claimed he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.19% and cannabinoids in his system.

By January 2025, the fight had shifted deeper into discovery, when the family sought Kanaka‘ole-Ioane’s cellphone and the cruiser’s onboard computer, only to have that request denied by Deputy Corporation Counsel Justin Lee. Kanaka‘ole-Ioane was reported as an 18-year HPD veteran who had returned to duty by June 2024. The case now stands as more than a collision lawsuit: it is a test of evidence, fault and whether the public will get a full accounting of a teenager’s death.