Arrest made in Nanakuli fatality
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Police arrested the driver of a pickup truck that struck and killed a 43-year-old newspaper delivery woman yesterday in Nanakuli.
The 33-year-old woman driver, who has no local address, was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide and other traffic-related violations, police said. She was released from the Wai'anae police substation yesterday pending further investigation.
Gaylene Lewis of Nanakuli was on the west edge of Nanakuli Avenue delivering The Advertiser when a 1977 Chevrolet custom deluxe pickup truck crossed the center line and struck her just before 3:43 a.m., police said. The scene was 284 feet south of Mano Avenue, near the Nanakuli fire station.
After hitting Lewis, the truck hit a chain-link fence, wooden log and three small palm trees before stopping in a yard, police said. Police are investigating whether the driver of the truck had fallen asleep before she struck Lewis.
Lewis suffered abrasions and internal injuries and she was taken to the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:30 a.m.
Alcohol was not a factor in the accident and speed has not yet been determined as a factor, police said.
It was O'ahu's 15th traffic fatality this year, compared with 13 at the same time last year. It was the fifth reported pedestrian fatality on O'ahu this year and the eighth traffic fatality this month.
Wendell Carlos, an independent contractor who hired Lewis, said: "She was a dependable carrier. She was here about two years with me. She was more than just a carrier. She was a good family friend."
Lewis lived on Keaulana Avenue, near Nanakuli Beach Park.
Her daughter, Jennifer, 20, and longtime companion, Isaac O. Paaoao, mourned her loss yesterday.
"I love her like I love my daughter (Jennifer)," said Paaoao, who also delivers The Advertiser. "Now I have my daughter to watch. She's part of me, like her mother is part of me."
Mike Fisch, president and publisher of The Advertiser, said: "We're saddened by this tragedy because our carriers are all part of our 'ohana. We want to express our condolences to her family."
