Vandal torches safe-driving display
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
An arsonist set fire yesterday to a wrecked car that was on display on Kaukonahua Road as part of an effort to discourage reckless driving.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Some thoughtless person torched the car," said Police Cpl. Eli Walters, a Wahiawa police officer who has coordinated three wrecked car displays in Central O'ahu, including the one on Kaukonahua Road.
As he examined a damaged safety display with Schofield safety manager Chuck Gerrior (with cap, foreground), police officer Eli Walters expressed anger over a "senseless act" of vandalism.
The displays are meant to encourage drivers to slow down, use seat belts and avoid drinking and driving. The Kaukonahua Road display, a 1980 Buick Century with a crumpled front end, roof and frame, was the most important of the three, Walters said.
"That is probably the most deadly road in the state," he said.
More than 20 people have died on Kaukonahua Road since 1994. Three Mililani High School students, killed in April, were the most recent victims.
The car was worthless before it was torched about 2 a.m. yesterday, Walters said. However, it was displayed on a heavy-duty trailer on loan from the Army.
The trailer, used by Army engineers to haul 40-ton bulldozers, was worth between $45,000 and $60,000, said Chuck Gerrior, senior occupational safety and health manager at Schofield.
Walters said police and firefighters are investigating the arson, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms representative is investigating damage to government property.
The fire caused $4,000 damage to the trailer, said Fire Capt. Richard Soo. Fire investigators determined the blaze was intentionally set.
Walters said Kaukonahua Road, which winds between Wahiawa and Waialua, is part of his beat. According to Walters, the road winds so much that area residents refer to it as the snake road. Ironwood trees line its edges and are unyielding barriers for cars that leave the road.
"I've never seen an ironwood lose a bout with a car," Walters said.
Abe's Towing, the company that has a contract with the police department to remove cars after traffic accidents, agreed to provide the wrecked cars. The tow lot workers took care to make sure the vehicles were not driven by people killed or injured in Central O'ahu, Walters said.
The displays, along with an increased police presence on Kaukonahua Road, had seemed to be reducing the number of accidents.
"Now this senseless act is ruining our heart-and-soul effort to educate others,'' the officer lamented.
