By PAUL ANDERSON
SANTA ANA — A 34-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison for 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 Dec. 4 of second-degree murder for the Sept. 20, 2018, crash that killed Jacob Eddy Farrand.
“Losing my son, Jacob, in such a horrific manner was the most devastating thing in my life,” the victim’s mother, Nancy, said in a victim impact statement read in court Friday.
Farrand’s mother said she has been in therapy since her son’s death and remains fearful of not only getting behind the wheel, but frightened that any of her loved ones won’t be killed on the road.
“I never knew the human body was capable of producing tears to the point of dehydration,” she said.
She told Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg in her statement that even normally joyful events such as her other son’s marriage couldn’t lift her out of her grief, explaining she felt “numb” during the ceremony.
“All I could think of was the son who couldn’t be there,” she said. “The pain is so huge no joy overcomes it.”
Her son had a reputation for being the “designated driver” for his circle of friends, she said. She recalled how he once drove down from La Habra to Hollywood to pick up a friend of a friend he had never met because she was too impaired to drive.
Farrand’s father, Donald Farrand, said, “I can still hear Jacob’s knocking on my door at 2 in the morning saying, `Dad, I’ve got to go pick up someone.’ My answer was always, `Be careful.’ But how can you be careful against a car going 70 mph through a red light?”
Donald Farrand recounted all of the efforts that have been done to lessen the number of DUI fatal crashes, but lamented how they continue.
“We have Ubers, we have rideshares,” he said. “The defendant had all kinds of support. But where were they when he was microdosing mushrooms and pounding methamphetamine?”
Perhaps, the victim’s father said, the defendant might have been convinced to stop driving under the influence if he had attended the court hearings from prior violations and was upbraided by a judge.
“Society needs to do better,” Donald Farrand said. “The courts need to do better.”
Hisaka thanked the judge, his attorney and the prosecutor “for a fair trial.”
He added, “I know nothing I could say will ease any of the pain or suffering I caused. … I go back and forth in my mind wishing I could take it back or trade places. … I hope someday something good can come of this and (the victim’s family) can move forward with your lives. … I know you could never forgive me and I understand that. I apologize to my family, and I’m sorry.”
Bromberg noted that Hisaka had no prior criminal history and appeared to be a good person, but the victim was “particularly vulnerable” given the time of night the crash happened and the expectation of so much less traffic.
“This is the one of the most extreme conduct of abusing drugs and alcohol this court has ever seen,” Bromberg said.
“It boggles the mind how something like this can ever happen,” he added.
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 during the trial. 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.
Hisaka was given credit for 1,976 days behind bars awaiting trial.