A 33-year-old man was convicted Monday of an alcohol-fueled crash in La Habra that killed a 24-year-old man who was driving home from his girlfriend’s house.
Scott Seiji Hisaka was convicted of second-degree murder for the Sept. 20, 2018, crash that killed Jacob Eddy Farrand.
Hisaka guzzled down Fireball whiskey in his 2018 Toyota Corolla that evening before driving to a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store to get two cans of Four Loko malt liquor, according to Deputy District Attorney Devin Campbell. The defendant drove back to his apartment complex, parked in the lot and continued drinking, Campbell said.
Then Hisaka hit the road again and was “gunning it down Harbor Boulevard,” Campbell said. He was going faster than 70 mph in a 35 mph zone, the prosecutor added.
When he got to La Habra and Harbor boulevards he went through a red light and slammed into Farrand’s 2006 Toyota Prius about 2:30 a.m., Campbell said.
“The defendant reached 77 mph just seconds before colliding into the side of Jacob Farrand’s vehicle. Jacob never had a chance,” Campbell said.
Multiple witnesses called first responders, who arrived on scene and pronounced Farrand dead, Campbell said.
Hisaka, who cut his tongue in the crash, was taken to an area hospital, where a blood test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.20, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, Campbell said.
“An hour later it was 0.19,” Campbell said.
“He never once touched the brake pedal, not even a tap” before the crash, Campbell said.
“What’s worse yet is he also had Ecstasy in his system,” Campbell said. “And this was not defendant’s first run-in with the law or his first example with alcohol or crashing his car. It wasn’t even his first example of driving under the influence.”
Hisaka was arrested in November 2008 on suspicion of driving under the influence in Concord, California, but he wasn’t charged, Campbell said. He told an officer then that he was a “dumb ass for doing that,” because a friend’s brother died in a DUI crash, the prosecutor added.
On June 25, 2018, Hisaka was arrested in Costa Mesa after he passed out behind the wheel with a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, Campbell said. He was charged in that case on July 24, 2018, struck a plea deal and, as a result, signed a form on Sept. 5, 2018, with an advisory that he could face an upgraded charge from manslaughter to murder if he were involved in a deadly DUI crash, Campbell said.
“Defendant made a lot of choices that night,” Campbell said. “Choices that led to a 24-year-old man’s life drastically cut short.”
La Habra police Officer Nicole Voss, who was one of the first on scene of the crash, testified about how Hisaka kept repeating “I’m good, I’m good” as the officers attempted to coax him out of his car. A body-worn video from Voss showed Hisaka, with blood spattered on his chest, stumbling out of the wrecked car.
Hisaka’s attorney, Cameron Talley, argued that prosecutors failed to show his client had “specialized knowledge” of the dangers of drinking and driving. Talley argued it was not proven that his client was fully aware he could face an upgraded charge of murder when he signed the 14-page plea agreement.
Talley also challenged the argument that his client was driving recklessly and that the alcohol was at a level to affect his driving at the time of the crash.