By Brandon Masuoka
and Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writers
Three motorcycle patrol officers involved in a multi-bike crash yesterday were wearing body armor that likely lessened their injuries, Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue said.
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| A light pole on the Honolulu side of the Pali Tunnel was moved into the median strip after three motorcycle police officers crashed into it on their way to work in town yesterday morning.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser |
The three officers were injured when they hit a metal light pole that had fallen across the Pali Highway yesterday morning. A fourth officer swerved around the pole and avoided injury.
"Two of the officers felt that their bulletproof vests saved them because it helped absorb the impact," Donohue said. "When they hit the ground, they were bouncing around like balls. We were blessed. We could have lost four officers."
The accident closed the Pali in both directions for about two hours, snarling the morning commute for Windward residents.
Some veterans of the Honolulu Police Department said the crash was among the worst for the motorcycle patrol unit, which has 36 riders.
"In my tenure, it’s the most serious I’ve ever heard of in terms of number," said Maj. Louis Souza, who joined HPD in 1962. "We’ve had two before but never three as far as I can recall."
Officers Will Cluney, 46, Valentine Huihui Jr., 48, and Jesus Rosalez, 43, struck the pole at 40 to 45 mph. A fourth officer, Darryl Jeremiah, 38, swerved around it, police said.
The officers were riding together on department-issued $20,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The impact of the crash ejected the riders, who suffered bruises and scrapes, including injuries to their hands and legs, said Maj. Jeffrey Owens of the Traffic Division.
Huihui suffered the most serious injuries and will likely remain at the Queen’s Medical Center for a few days. Rosalez was treated and released, and Cluney was expected to be released yesterday.
"They got to hurt," Owens said. "I don’t know when they’ll be back. They need time to heal."
Owens agreed the body armor not only shielded the officers but prevented their bodies from twisting.
The accident happened at about 4:30 a.m. after a car traveling toward Kane‘ohe minutes earlier hit the 30-foot metal light pole, causing it to fall on the Honolulu side of the Pali about a mile from the tunnel. The vehicle didn’t stop.
The four officers came upon the fallen pole in the predawn darkness and had little chance to avoid it, Owens said.
At a press conference yesterday, Owens said an anonymous caller reported a downed pole at 4:20 a.m. and a dark-colored car leaving the area.
Police reopened all lanes of the Pali Highway at about 6:24 a.m. Emergency, police and fire personnel responded to the scene.
Donohue said he talked with the injured officers and their families, and Owens also went to the Queen’s Medical Center to offer support yesterday.
Since 1923, 10 Honolulu police solo bike officers have been killed on duty, the last in 1991.
Randall Domingo, day supervisor of HPD’s Vehicle Maintenance Section, declared Huihui’s motorcycle a total loss with major frame damage, while Cluney’s requires about $3,000 in repairs and Rosalez’s about $2,500 in repairs.
Anyone who saw the vehicle that knocked down the pole should call the Traffic Division at 529-3499 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
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