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A motorist who killed a moped rider in a drunken driving hit-and-run collision near Ala Moana Center began serving a one-year jail term Monday for negligent homicide and fleeing the scene of a traffic collision. Read more

A motorist who killed a moped rider in a drunken driving hit-and-run collision near Ala Moana Center began serving a one-year jail term Monday for negligent homicide and fleeing the scene of a traffic collision.

The jail term is part of a five-year probation sentence a state judge handed 48-year-old Jerry Putnam of Salt Lake.

Circuit Judge Catherine Remigio ordered Putnam immediately taken into custody to begin serving the jail term. But, she is allowing him early release after 30 days.

Remigio also revoked Putnam’s driver license and is prohibiting him from operating a vehicle while on probation. She ordered him to pay $1,210 into various state funds for crime victims and the treatment of traumatic injury, and $350 in court fees.

Paul Andrews was riding his moped east on Kapiolani Boulevard just before midnight May 26, 2017, when Putnam, driving in the opposite direction, turned left at Atkinson Drive and struck him. Andrews had just finished work at Nobu Honolulu restaurant and was on his way home to Waikiki.

Police said Andrews, 32, was thrown from the moped. A city ambulance took him to The Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition where he died three days later.

An Uber driver and passenger witnessed the collision and saw Putnam stop, get out of his car, look at the damage to his vehicle, then get back in and drive off. The Uber driver followed Putnam to his home in Salt Lake. Along the way the driver and passenger told police Putnam drove erratically, disregarding stop signs and traffic lights.

Putnam called 911 from his home and reported that he hit a moped at Atkinson Drive. Responding police officers smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Putnam’s breath and noticed that his eyes were red and watery and that his speech was slurred.

The officers administered a field sobriety test, which Putnam failed. He refused a breath test but agreed to have his blood tested; it contained 0.12 gram of alcohol per 100 milliliters. The legal threshold for drunken driving is 0.08 gram of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.

Andrews’ widow, Lorenia Leyva-Andrews, claims in a state lawsuit that Putnam got drunk at Chez Sports Bar &Grill in Aiea.

An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment in October charging Putnam with first-degree negligent homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal traffic crash. Both charges are Class B felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Putnam pleaded no contest to the charges in February. He asked Remigio to defer his pleas, giving him the opportunity to avoid conviction and to eventually clear the charges from his criminal record. State law, however, does not allow deferred pleas to charges involving the intentional, knowing, reckless or negligent killing of another person.