Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Fagatogo Police Headquarters was contacted on June 16, 2023 in regards to a vehicle that struck a pedestrian in Fagatogo near the Tedi building, and according to statements from the driver to responding officers, “They were heading home from a fa’alavelave, and when he drove up to where the Tedi building was, his daughter yelled that someone was leaning towards their car while they were near the crosswalk.”

The driver further states that the pedestrian hit the right side of his vehicle, and he reacted by veering his vehicle towards the left side away from the pedestrian and was not aware that the pedestrian was injured. The driver stated that he was in shock and immediately stopped his vehicle.

On June 18, two days after the incident, the responding officers followed up on the victim’s injury by paying them a visit at L.B.J. and the attending physician, identified injuries that included fractured toes on the left foot and skin peeled off on the right foot, showing tendons.

Court documents revealed that given the facts of the investigation, the officer’s observation and admission statements by the driver at fault, it is believed that Iose Leato engaged in violation of the A.S.C.A (American Samoa Code Annotated) Title 22.0701, which translates to a careless driving accident causing bodily injuries.

Charges set forth for Leato were one count of careless driving causing bodily injury, which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of 6 months or a fine of $500 or both. Leato’s initial court appearance date was set last week, July 11, 2023.