SALT LAKE CITY — A Japanese couple that survived a deadly van crash in southern Utah has filed a federal lawsuit against the driver, alleging he "heavily" smoked marijuana in the days prior to and including the night before the accident.
Meantime, Yasushi Mikuni, 26, made an initial appearance Tuesday in 5th District Court, where he is charged with 10 third-degree felony counts of negligently operating a vehicle causing death or injury and one misdemeanor charge of having marijuana residue in his system. He also faces misdemeanor logbook and lane-change violations.
Judge G. Michael Westfall set a preliminary hearing date for Jan. 26, 2011. Mikuni earlier posted $50,000 bail. He lives in Las Vegas, where he attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas on a student visa from Japan.
The Utah Highway Patrol says Mikuni fell asleep driving the 15-passenger van Aug. 9 on I-15 near Cedar City. The crash killed three tourists and injured 11.
According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by husband and wife Kei and Mia Maeda, Mikuni chose to drive from Las Vegas to Utah despite being on duty for 11 hours before, getting less than seven hours sleep and "smoking marijuana heavily over the several days prior to the accident and from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on the evening before the accident."
In addition, knowing he was tired, Mikuni consumed energy drinks and chewed caffeine gum to stay awake, the lawsuit says.
Mikuni "failed to protect his tour group from the real and present danger of a tour driver (namely himself) who the tour guide knew to be seriously impaired by drowsiness and/or marijuana."
The two companies for which Mikuni worked, Canyon Transportation Inc. of Sandy and Western Leisure Inc. of Midvale, and Japan-based Nippon Travel Agency are also named in the federal complaint. According to the suit, the two Utah companies were negligent in allowing Mikuni to work as both tour driver and tour guide, knowing that he would have no rest time during scheduled stops.
The Maedas, both 29, were celebrating their first anniversary when the crash occurred, said their lawyer, Scott D. Brown. Kei Maeda suffered a C7-T1 dislocation at the base of his neck, while Mai Maeda had injured ribs and a punctured lung. Kei Maeda was not stable enough to return to Japan until last week, Brown said.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money for medical expenses, past and future wages, pain and suffering along with punitive damages.
"This is not a vindictive kind of thing," Brown said of the lawsuit. "It is, however, a very sadly tragic thing."
Western Leisure and Nippon Travel have "demonstrated their concern" and tried to do what they could to support the couple, he said.
e-mail: romboy@desnews.com