Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNLDriver charged in deadly hit & run involving bicyclist gives up court fight

Driver charged in deadly hit & run involving bicyclist gives up court fight

Posted: Updated:
Photo Courtesy: Colin Wiki Photography Photo Courtesy: Colin Wiki Photography

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Fourteen months after Hawaii Pacific University baseball player Zachary Manago was killed during a bicycle ride, the Army man charged in the case has given up his court fight.

Douglas Curtis' no contest plea to fleeing the scene of the crash came as a relief to the 18-year-old victim's mother, who says she had prayed for it.

"Just make it easier for our family, and we don't have to go through that trial and that whole long process," Daphne Manago, crash victim's mother, said. "That's exactly what I was hoping for."

The victim's cycling buddies located the suspect for police. Defense attorney Jonathan Burge says his client thought he had struck an animal, and feels bad about what happened and for the victim's family.

Daphne Manago wants to attend the 26-year-old's sentencing in May to see for herself if he's sincerely sorry.

"I would love to hear what he has to say about how this is going to change his life," she said. "I'm hoping that something positive can come out of it."

Since the tragedy, the devastated mother has become an advocate for bicycle safety, most recently supporting a petition for a bike lane on busy Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki.

She says it's what her son would have wanted. The last college paper he ever wrote was titled, 'Should Hawaii Have More Bike Lanes?'

"In that essay, Zach talked about how, although he loved biking, he was always afraid," Daphne Manago said.

Curtis, who faces up to 10 years in prison, plans to ask the judge for a deferral. If his request is granted and he stays out of trouble for a certain period of time, the felony won't appear on his record.

"I don't think it's right because he is responsible for what he did," Daphne Manago said. "To me, it should be on his record."

We happened to catch Daphne at home while she was going through her son's belongings. She says time doesn't heal all wounds.

"Some days I'm fine," she said through tears. "But other days, it's just really, really hard."

Copyright 2012 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

  • Most ReadMost Read

  • Thursday, May 24 2012 3:02 AM EDT2012-05-24 07:02:11 GMT
    HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow)- Special agents with the Honolulu Bureau of the FBI, along with the Honolulu Police Department are executing a search warrant at a building in Chinatown.Details are limited at
    Honolulu police shut down a block in Chinatown as FBI agents arrested Patrick C. Lopes and searched his room in a Pauahi Street boarding house...

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 7:19 PM EDT2012-05-23 23:19:37 GMT
    Maui police say a man is dead following a shooting in the parking lot of the Mana Kai Maui resort in Kihei. The shooting happened around 11 a.m. according to paramedics who were dispatched to the scene
    A man suspected of trying to elude police in a stolen car was shot and killed by a Maui police officer Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of the Mana Kai Maui resort in Kihei.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 1:35 PM EDT2012-05-23 17:35:13 GMT
    A dramatic brush fire in Ewa shut down Fort Weaver Road while crews brought it under control. The Honolulu Fire Department said the blaze was reported at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection
    A dramatic brush fire in Ewa shut down Fort Weaver Road while crews brought it under control.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 3:08 AM EDT2012-05-23 07:08:44 GMT
    By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has sent 1 of his deputies to Hawaii to accompany an official in his volunteer posse investigating President Barack
    The state of Hawaii has verified President Barack Obama's birth records to Arizona's elections chief after a nearly three-month back and forth that Arizona officials said could have ended without the incumbent's name on its November ballot.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 1:23 PM EDT2012-05-23 17:23:59 GMT
    (RNN) Shareholders are suing Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Inc. and banks who were underwriters for the social network, including Morgan Stanley, claiming information was concealed ahead of the Facebook's
    Shareholders are suing Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Inc., and banks who were underwriters for the social network - including Morgan Stanley, claiming information was concealed ahead of the Facebook's initial public offering, Reuters reports.