The family of a 34-year-old man killed in a collision two years ago is appealing to an Orange County Superior Court judge to not dismiss a hit-and-run case against the driver, who was convicted of misdemeanor manslaughter in September.
David Stephen Kennedy II, 60, of Huntington Beach, was convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the Sept. 11, 2021, collision that killed Long Ta of Santa Ana. But jurors deadlocked 7-5 for acquittal on a felony count of hit-and-run with permanent injury.
The case was reassigned to Orange County Superior Court Judge Lance Jensen, who was scheduled to oversee a retrial on the deadlocked charge, but is expected on Friday to consider ruling on a motion to dismiss the hit-and-run case.
The victim’s sister, Nga Arasato, told City News Service that her family is appealing to Jensen to not dismiss the hit-and-run charge.
“It will not give us closure,” she said. “It’s going to haunt us, I think, forever — like we didn’t do enough. I feel like if it was me, my brother would have fought for justice. His death is worth more than a year in jail.”
She said her brother “was such a good person. He was always there for us. He was like my go-to.”
She added that he had a knack for “making my daughters laugh. he was the man in their life who lifted us up and made us feel that everything would be OK.”
She said that while she was “very close” to her brother, he had that effect on everyone.
“He made everybody feel that way,” she said.
Ta was headed home from a morning jog when he was killed, she said.
The collision happened about 6:20 a.m. at Edinger Avenue and Ward Street. Ta was walking north across Edinger in a crosswalk with a green light when he was struck by the van Kennedy was driving, prosecutors said.
Ta succumbed to his head injuries Sept. 13, 2021.
One witness told police he saw the driver pause for a moment before speeding away, prosecutors said.
Police spotted a suspect vehicle on Sept. 15 in the parking lot of Fountain Bowl, 17110 Brookhurst St., and when they questioned Kennedy, he said he thought he struck a rubber bumper cushion, prosecutors said. The victim’s DNA was on debris from the vehicle that was recovered at the scene of the collision, prosecutors said.