Striking Moloka'i nurses help crash victims

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Four of Moloka'i's five striking registered nurses left the picket line to follow ambulances to the hospital emergency room yesterday.

The four volunteered their services at Moloka'i General Hospital and helped to treat five victims of a single-car accident, three of whom were in critical condition.

The fifth nurse had taken the day off from the picket line.

The injured people were members of the same family, police said. The father was driving a 1979 Ford Bronco at about 9:30 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle on Highway 460 north of Maunaloa. The driver, the mother, a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old were ejected. A 9-month-old girl remained strapped in her infant seat.

Dino Fontes, one of the striking nurses, said he and his co-workers were picketing near downtown Kaunakakai when they heard sirens. An off-duty paramedic who was picketing with them was called back to work.

Fontes asked the other nurses if they wanted to go and help.

"Everyone threw down their signs and got into the car," he said.

The mother, father and one of the daughters were stabilized and flown to the Queen's Medical Center. The 9-month-old and one of her sisters were treated and released.

Fontes said the nurses will be back on the picket line at 6 a.m. tomorrow. The nurses have been on strike since May 12, asking for a one-time bonus and a 1 percent raise, for a total cost of less than $5,000 annually.