Freed Toyota Driver: My Children Don't Know Me

[Omaha Steve]

Source: ABC

Attorney Credits ABC News Report for Helping Koua Fong Lee Win Release from Prison

By ANGELA M. HILL

In his first interview since winning freedom yesterday, Koua Fong Lee, the Minnesota man jailed after his 1996 Toyota Camry sped out of control and killed three people, said his two youngest children don't know their father because he's been imprisoned on vehicular homicide for the past three years.

"The first thing I'm going to do is talk to them, to get to know them, to play with them," Lee told ABC News. "I want them to know I am their daddy. I will teach them what the word daddy means."

After a judge ordered Lee freed from prison Thursday pending a new trial, prosecutors announced they would not try Lee again. Following a four-day hearing, Judge Joanne Smith ruled there was enough evidence to grant a new trial to Lee, who had been serving an eight-year sentence for criminal vehicular homicide. He was convicted in a 2006 crash in which his Toyota Camry crashed into an Oldsmobile, killing driver Javis Adams, his 10-year-old son and injuring Adams' seven-year-old nice Devyn Bolton, who later died of her injuries.

Lee's attorney Bob Hilliard credited an ABC News report from Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross for garnering attention on the case.

FULL 3 page feature story and more photos at link.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/freed-toyota-driver-koua-fong-lee-children/story?id=11336616

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Koua Fong Lee, the Minnesota man jailed after his 1996 Toyota Camry sped out of control and killed three people, speaks to news cameras after being released yesterday following a judges ruling.
(ABC News)

[Oceansaway]

1. thanks Steve for the posts on this story...n/t

[grace0418]

2. Good news finally for this family! I wasn't totally clear from the article, did the family

of the people who died support his claim it was an accident?

[Omaha Steve]

5. Yes they did

I posted that a couple weeks ago.

Photo gallery here includes the family: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/slideshow?id=9893462

"Maybe there is something to what Mr. Lee said was going on with him in his car," says Trice now. "I don't want to see anybody suffer for anything they didn't deliberately do." (ABC News)

[mzmolly]

14. What a tragic story. Both families should be financially compensated

by Toyota. Not that any compensation can replace loved ones...

[Kolesar]

3. Kudos for ABC News...

and peace to Mr. Koua.

[annm4peace]

4. Living in the twin cities, I have been so proud of the people rallying behind Koua

It has been amazing. Vigils, marching.. calling campaigns to the Attorney General.

I'm so glad it turned out this way.

I hope it happens for others imprisoned who should be able to have re-trials because of new evidence

[Jefferson23]

6. Finally the nightmare comes to an end. Too many unnecessary victims

in this tale.

[elleng]

7. THANK GOODNESS, wherever it may be!

[Enrique]

8. why did he get eight years for an accident?

This Lee guy had his pregnant wife in the car with him, he obviously didn't do it on purpose.

that asshole Bill Janklow got something like a month for killing someone, and he had a long history of speeding.

[localroger]

9. Probably b/c he refused to acknowledge guilt

One of the ways they try to blackmail you into confessing instead of making them stage an expensive trial is that they promise to crank the railroad into overdrive come sentencing time should you make them go to trial.

[murielm99]

10. Janklow was sentenced to one hundred days, and only

served thirty. His law license was reinstated very quickly, even though he was a convicted felon.

The family of the motorcyclist whom he killed was restricted in the amount of damages they could sue for. The ruling was that Janklow was on official government business. The motorcyclist's family got a small settlement. The whole thing stank to high heaven.

[midnight armadillo]

18. Slap on the wrist is for motorcycle deaths

Same for bicycles. See, if you're on a 2 wheel vehicle, if you're hit by a car it's your fault, and the car driver just claims "I didn't see them" and it's declared an accident.

Kill another driver on the other hand, and whoa - now you're in trouble.

this is not sarcasm, BTW.

[murielm99]

19. I understand.

We have large numbers of motorcyclists here during the nice weather. They are encouraged to come here to our state and national parks parks and scenic countryside. There is a community not far from me that has a number of gatherings for the bikers. Everyone likes their money.

I do try to be extra careful around them. If a driver does not see them, that means he or she was not looking carefully enough. That is no excuse.

[Odin2005]

13. He's Hmong, and his lawyer was a moron.

[MoonRiver]

11. I already buy nothing from Japan because of whaling.

This just adds fuel to the fire.

[midnight]

12. Knowledge is power. When we allow the experts to use emotion and

conceal the facts people go to prison.

[Hissyspit]

15. Where are all the DUers who said this guy was lying?

Just wondering.

[Hissyspit]

16. delete - dupe nt

[Hepburn]

17. OMG....I cannot believe he is free!

Thank you so much for posting this ~~ his conviction and imprisonment was so totally wrong.

Edit for typo.