OAKLAND — A Piedmont man who killed a pedestrian in a car crash and then walked away, leaving his own wife and the victim behind, has avoided jail time after pleading no contest to two felonies.
Timothy Hamano, 67, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run in the death of 41-year-old Gregory Turnage Jr. But Hamano waited until after he’d served the maximum sentence while on pretrial house arrest, leaving him with nothing left to serve but a probation term, court records show.
All in all, Hamano spent a single day in jail after his 2021 arrest before being granted release on home detention and electronic monitoring, court records show.
Oakland police said at the time of the May 9, 2021, crash that Hamano had been driving his Lexus GS north on Park Boulevard in Oakland when he struck Turnage, who was standing on the sidewalk, leaving him with “grave” injuries. Hamano then allegedly fled the scene on foot, leaving his injured wife and failing to check on Turnage.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Turnage’s family expressed outrage at the outcome during a May court hearing.
“I won’t waste my breath trying to humanize Greg to you by sharing what made him so special to us and how much he is loved and missed,” Turnage’s significant other, Angie Brey, said at the hearing, according to the Chronicle.
Timothy Hamano’s attorney filed several support letters for him. They included praise from his brother, Stephen Hamano, who described Timothy Hamano as a person who is “hard working, ethical, compassionate, generous, and responsible, who has been involved in a tragic accident.” Police reportedly found evidence that Hamano had ordered alcoholic drinks at a restaurant earlier in the day, but he was never charged with drunk driving.
“There is nothing that can be done to change the current situation,” Stephen Hamano wrote. “I ask that the court consider Tim is a good person involved in a terrible tragedy who wishes to take fair responsibility and accountability for his involvement.”
