HONOLULU -- The mother of a skin diver killed by a fishing boat said she wants to know why the the boat owner has not been prosecuted.

Eleven months ago, Keahihoku Lum, 17, bled to death after a 26-foot boat ran over him while he was spear fishing. His mother, Lehua Lum, said she wants her son's death taken seriously, so others will be safer.

“I don't want anybody or any mother to have to suffer the loss that I did -- losing a child that way,” Lum told KITV.

Lum was spear fishing with two buddies in the early afternoon Oct. 4, 2009 in Maunalua Bay off Hawaii Kai. Police reports said the fishing boat ran over Lum and his friend. Lum died later of a massive laceration under his left arm.

In his written statement to police, the owner of the boat said he came out of the Hawaii Kai harbor and after he passed the last buoy sped up to about 12 knots. He said he was in about 3-5 foot swells and about 200 feet offshore when he hit “something.” He said he never saw any dive flag in his path.

When Lehua Lum was told incorrectly her son had been in the boat channel, she began to wonder about the police investigation because her son’s friends said he followed all safety rules. “He did everything right,” she said. “He did his part.”

The Lum family’s attorney, Lyle Hosoda, hired an expert who recreated the conditions. The expert said the incident happened 150 yards from shore, the divers were close to their buoy and that the boat owner's speed and violation of state regulations and standard boating practice amounted to “gross negligence.”

But Lum said police didn't act like they were investigating a crime, particularly in questioning the boat owner.

That’s one of her questions. “If they did a sobriety check. If they checked him for drugs,” Lum said.

One officer’s report described the owner as sober and coherent. But, sober or not, Lum said a negligent boater who kills should not be treated differently from a negligent driver.

“Because I know my son would want me to correct the wrong,” Lum said. “I know that my son would want to make it right whatever happened.”

She said if vague laws are the problem, they should be changed.

“My mission is to, in the memory of my son, do everything I can to help make things right. So that no other parent should ever have to suffer like this.”

Boating deaths are rare in Hawaii and there are multiple agencies involved. The Department of Land and Natural Resources said it recommended criminal charges to the Honolulu prosecutor’s office several months ago. The prosecutor’s spokesman said the case is still under investigation. The Honolulu Police Department didn't offer any comment for this story.