Ronald and Veronica Genta had been married for just three weeks when, on a clear pre-dawn morning driving down Pali Highway nearly 13 years ago, they saw the bright headlights of an oncoming Jeep.

"I was like, 'This is it,' " Ronald Genta said. "It's been a brief, wonderful life."

The Jeep slammed into the couple's Toyota station wagon, crushing the right front of their car.

Ronald Genta suffered torn muscles in his shoulder. His wife's injuries were more extensive and included a broken back and ribs, a punctured liver, and a gash to her forehead requiring 50 stitches to close.

Nine months later, the O'ahu grand jury indicted Constance G. MacLeod on two felony charges of negligently injuring the Gentas. A judge issued a bench warrant for MacLeod's arrest, but by then she had left the state.

The Sheriff Division located her in Quebec. But the city prosecutor's office chose not to extradite her even though a deputy prosecutor recommended that MacLeod be brought back to face the charges. The deputy prosecutor reported MacLeod had a previous drunken driving case, was driving on the wrong side of the highway and had an alcohol level above the legal limit on the day of the accident, May 22, 1993.

For reasons that no one can remember, the prosecutor's office rejected the deputy's recommendation and notified the Sheriff Division not to arrest the woman. Instead, sheriffs were directed to hold on to the warrant in case MacLeod ever returns to Hawai'i.

"This is criminal," said Ronald Genta, who lived with his wife in Kailua at the time of the accident and who now lives in Florida. "How can you not want to prosecute someone like that?"

MacLeod could not be located for comment on this story.

MANY WON'T BE PURSUED

MacLeod's bench warrant is among more than 900 warrants held by Honolulu police and the Sheriff Division seeking the arrest of defendants indicted by the O'ahu grand jury on felony charges. More than 800, including MacLeod's warrant, are in the hands of the Sheriff Division and Honolulu police have another 136 warrants, according to a list provided by the department to The Advertiser in December.

Out of the 900-plus warrants, law enforcement officials have decided not to seek the arrest of an estimated 250 defendants indicted on felony charges who left the state. The warrants have attached memos directing sheriffs not to extradite the defendants but still store the warrants in case the individuals show up in the state again.

The "no extradition" warrants are a fraction of the roughly 61,500 outstanding warrants held by O'ahu law enforcement authorities. But the practice of purposely suspending the serving of out-of-state defendants is not widely known — and angers some victims when they find out.

Prosecutors blame a lack of resources for the practice.

The Gentas' case preceded his tenure, but city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said his office considers many factors in determining whether to bring back defendants. These include the cost of sending police to the Mainland to escort defendants back to Honolulu, whether the case includes aggravating factors such as the defendants' criminal histories and the seriousness of the crime, whether the victims are still available to testify, and the age of the offense.

"In the best of all possible worlds, we'd bring everybody back to have them face judgment," he said. "But if it's a really ancient case, there's no likelihood of us getting any advantage of having this person prosecuted, and it's going to cost the state resources, then we're going to use our common sense, and say, 'Hey, wait a minute, let's put our money towards current crimes, not ancient ones.' "

Christopher Young, deputy attorney general in charge of criminal prosecutions, agreed. "In a perfect world, we would like to extradite everyone, but it would basically break the bank. There's a lot of costs involved."

Young said he wasn't familiar with the Gentas' case. But he said while victims should be consulted, the ultimate decision on whether to return a defendant is left to the prosecutors.

The Gentas still wonder why the driver charged in their Pali Highway accident was never extradited.

"If you're not going to extradite that person, who are you going to extradite?" asked Ronald Genta.

MONEY MATTERS

City Deputy Prosecutor Vickie Kapp had wanted MacLeod extradited, but it was former city First Deputy Prosecutor Cora Lum who overruled the recommendation.

Lum said she does not recall the case, but she cited factors that might have led to her decision, among them costs, the likelihood of a conviction and the severity of the charge.

MacLeod was never charged with drunken driving and that may have indicated problems proving the case, Lum said. And since MacLeod was in Canada, it would have taken additional effort and costs to bring her back.

She also said prosecutors put priority on extraditing defendants charged with serious felonies, such as Class A crimes carrying maximum 20-year terms. Negligent injury, the charge in MacLeod's case, is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Honolulu attorney David Brustein, who represented the Gentas in recovering money from the couple's and MacLeod's insurance companies, said he doesn't recall if the prosecutor's office ever told him the reasons that MacLeod was not extradited.

"Victims have very little leverage to get prosecutors to move on these things," he said.

Brustein also said there's no way to know if the Gentas' case is an aberration.

"We're an island state and so many accidents occur with out-of-state residents, so it's not a problem that's going away," he said. "I think it needs to be something that has a little bit more attention than it's received in the past."

Carlisle said if the collision happened today, his office would likely extradite MacLeod for prosecution given that the case involved injuries and drunken driving. Such cases draw harsher punishments today than they did in 1994 and MacLeod, if convicted, could get prison instead of probation. That would justify the costs of bringing her back to Hawai'i, he indicated.

'LUCKY TO SURVIVE'

Ronald Genta, 45, an actor and artist, moved to Sarasota, Fla., with his wife in 1996 and now owns a gallery there. He has only limited use of his right arm because of the muscle damage caused by the crash.

His wife, Veronica, 42, a flight attendant, doesn't suffer lingering effects, but at the time was hospitalized in intensive care for about a week, she recalled.

"It's like your worst nightmare," she said. "You never want to see white lights in front of you."

Ronald Genta recalled one doctor saying that his wife's injuries were so severe, she would not be able to bear any children. The doctor's prognosis turned out to be wrong.

The Gentas recently returned to Honolulu for a vacation with their three daughters, Isabella, 9, Gia, 7, and Sofia, 3.

Standing near the Pali Highway lookout where the accident happened, Ronald Genta reflected: "We were lucky to survive the accident."

In all the years since the accident, the Gentas said they have never heard from MacLeod. No apology, no letter, nothing.

And from the justice system, no extradition.

"She was never held responsible," Ronald Genta said.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com and Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.