A Hilo grand jury indicted 30 year-old Dallas Brooks of Puna on negligent homicide and driving under the influence charges.

The May 16 collision, which took the life of Maxwell Robertson Sherwood, occurred at the intersection of 36th Avenue and Orchidland Drive in Puna.

Yesterday, Brooks, who was in custody on a $100,000 Indictment warrant, made his initial Hilo Circuit Court appearance where over prosecutors’ objections, the Court granted his defense counsel’s request for supervised release and scheduled a further proceedings hearing on January 21, 2026.

As the Indictment alleges, Brooks is charged with Negligent Homicide in the First Degree (cause the death of another person by the operation of a motor vehicle in a negligent manner while under the influence of alcohol) and Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of an Intoxicant. Prosecutors have further alleged that Brooks was a highly intoxicated driver elevating the offense from a class B to a class A felony. A highly intoxicated driver is a driver having a blood alcohol level of .15 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood. Negligent Homicide in the First Degree (highly intoxicated driver) is a class A felony offense which carries a penalty of a twenty-year prison term.

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