Qld man sued over Hawaii jet ski death

15 Aug 2012, 2:23 pm   -   Source: AAP

Queensland man Tyson Dagley is being held in custody over the death of a 16-year-old California girl in Hawaii and is also being sued by her parents.

A Queensland tourist facing a homicide charge over a fatal jet ski crash in Hawaii has also been slapped with a civil lawsuit filed by his alleged victim's high-profile family.

Tyson Dagley, 20, from Logan, south of Brisbane, was riding a rented jet ski on August 5 when it collided with a jet ski ridden by 16-year-old Californian girl Kristen Fonseca.

Ms Fonseca died the next day.

Fonseca's father, Mario Canton, is a high-ranking official with the US Department of Homeland Security and the civil lawsuit against Dagley and the jet ski company was filed on Monday in the Circuit Court in Honolulu, the family's lawyer Richard Fried said.

Mr Fried would not say how much the family was seeking in damages, but said they were distraught.

"The mother isn't (holding up)," Mr Fried told AAP.

"The stepfather, who raised the child, is head of our Homeland Security for five western states in the US and he is doing better.

"He's able to chit-chat and talk and so forth," Mr Fried said.

The lawsuit comes as Dagley is being held on $US100,000 ($A95,707) bail for a third-degree negligent homicide charge over the death.

AP reports a Honolulu judge denied Dagley's request to reduce his bail at his arraignment on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).

Dagley also requested a jury trial on the misdemeanour charge. His next court date is August 23.

Defence lawyer Walter Rodby called the bail "unreasonable", noting that his client isn't a flight risk because he had surrendered his passport.

Dagley a carpet cleaner, saved up for his dream vacation, Mr Rodby said.

"He prays for the girl every day, every night," Mr Rodby said, adding that Dagley suffered spinal injuries and a concussion in the crash. "He himself has not slept."

The family's lawsuit filed on Monday in Circuit Court in Honolulu also names as a defendant Aloha Jet Ski, which rented the personal watercraft to Dagley and Ms Fonseca in Keehi Lagoon.

The suit claims employees did nothing to prevent Dagley from driving recklessly. An employee who rented the watercraft to Ms Fonseca's family and Dagley "failed to give any instructions or warnings about driving at excessive speeds" before turning over the watercraft to the Australian, the lawsuit states.

Company representatives didn't return calls for comment. Dagley's parents couldn't be reached on Monday at the Honolulu hotel where they were staying, AP said.

Investigators say the 20-year-old Dagley was standing on his rented watercraft before it hit Ms Fonseca's watercraft from behind. They say he was looking at his girlfriend, who was taking video and photos, and didn't pay attention to where he was going.

Dagley's girlfriend, Natasha Ryan, 21, is charged with hindering his prosecution. She is free on $US500 bail.

A police report said Ms Ryan told investigators Dagley was sitting down and looking straight ahead before the collision, and that she didn't see the collision.

However, a forensic computer examiner recovered two deleted videos from the memory stick in Ms Ryan's camera which showed the crash.

The report said that in the video, Dagley appears to be standing on the watercraft.

Ms Ryan is scheduled to appear in Honolulu District Court on September 7 for the misdemeanour charge. Ms Ryan is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Ms Fonseca's parents are upset about an attempt to hide the footage, Mr Fried said.

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