Holiday quiet, still deadly

By Zenaida Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

Honolulu firefighters pronounced New Year's Eve to be "pretty quiet" and an improvement over last year, but it was still a deadly night on the streets.

A woman was killed at 2 a.m. in a two-car accident in Wai'anae, and a 48-year-old Waialua man died early yesterday after falling off a wall at his residence on Alena Loop while hanging a string of firecrackers.

A portable classroom at Mililani High School was destroyed in a 3:45 a.m. blaze, but firefighters said it appeared to be arson and not fireworks-related.

Fire Department spokes-man Capt. Kenison Tejada said that despite some problems, the city was not as smoky as last year.

Firefighters and paramedics responded to 126 calls on New Year's Day between midnight and 8 p.m.

North Shore police said the Waialua man hanging fireworks fell off a 5-foot-high hollow tile wall and hit his head on a rock.

The Wai'anae crash occurred at the intersection of Farrington Highway and Helelua Street. The victim was riding in a sedan that rear-ended a pickup truck, then slammed into a utility pole.

Another female passenger was critically injured, and the male driver was seriously injured, police said. They were taken to The Queen's Medical Center.