Head-on collision puts five in hospital
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
Kunia Road was closed for nearly four hours yesterday after a high-speed collision that left a 12-year-old boy in critical condition and four other people hospitalized.
According to the Honolulu Police Department, a blue 1999 Suzuki SUV and a white 1995 Honda sedan collided head-on around 9:30 a.m. about a half-mile north of the Del Monte packing plant on Kunia Road.
Malakai Otukolo witnessed the accident.
The Suzuki careened and landed on its left side, throwing a 7-year-old-boy from the vehicle. The boy was the son of the 37-year-old man driving the car, police said.
Inside the Honda, the driver, 20, his wife, 27, and their two nephews, ages 4 and 12, were injured.
Both drivers were trapped inside their vehicles. Honolulu firefighters had difficulty freeing them even with the use of hydraulic power tools, said Capt. Kenison Tejada.
All six people in the crash were taken to The Queen's Medical Center, three via helicopter.
Malakai Otukolo, 33, of Waipahu, said he was driving south on Kunia Road when the accident occurred. He said the Honda was heading in his direction when the Suzuki, heading south, passed him at very high speed.
According to Otukolo, the Suzuki remained in the passing lane and then fishtailed briefly before ramming the Honda.
Otukolo said he pulled over, ran to the Honda and disconnected the battery because smoke was coming from the engine. He said he was able to open the door on the driver's side only after great difficulty.
Otukolo was surprised when the driver of the Honda recognized him and called him Mike, which is how people in Waipahu address him.
"I'm Tongan, he's Samoan," said Otukolo. "We live in the same neighborhood in Waipahu. We see each other."
Otukolo said the driver and his wife were both seriously injured. The older boy in the back seat had such severe head injuries that Otukolo feared for the child's life. Otukolo said that as the younger boy cried, the older brother tried to comfort him.
According to Queen's spokeswoman Teresa Bryan, the older brother, listed in critical condition, was the most seriously injured of the six people involved. The conditions of his brother, uncle and aunt, as well as the driver of the Suzuki, were all upgraded to fair last night.
The 7-year-old boy was treated for injuries and released.
Traffic on Kunia Road was blocked off at around 9:45 a.m. while police conducted an investigation at the crash scene, but people who lived in the area were allowed to pass. The road was reopened at approximately 1:45 p.m.
Police said both drivers were speeding. It was not known if alcohol was a factor.
