Waipahu man, 63, impaled by railing

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 63-year-old Waipahu man was in guarded condition last night at The Queen's Medical Center after he was impaled by a fence railing in a golf-cart accident at the New 'Ewa Beach Golf Course.

The accident occurred just before 6 p.m. and involved two golfers riding in a cart near the first tee at the course at 91-050 Fort Weaver Road, said Capt. Kenison Tejada, spokesman for the Fire Department.

"The driver, for whatever reason, lost control and banged the fence," Tejada said. "The top railing along the fence was rusty. Somehow it broke off and it punctured the passenger's stomach area pretty deeply."

'Ewa Beach Fire Capt. Walter Faulconer said that the collision knocked the top railing down and that railing acted like a spear. The railing — which had a diameter of 1 to 1 1/2 inches — did not penetrate through the other side of the man's body, Faulconer said.

"It's a very odd injury," Faulconer said.

As the man fell from the cart, the railing became dislodged, Tejada said.

The man was airlifted to Queen's in serious to critical condition, paramedics said. He and the driver of the golf cart, also in his 60s, may have just finished playing golf because it was late in the day, Faulconer said.

A hospital spokeswoman last night said the man was in surgery for more than one hour and is expected to live.

The manager of the golf course, Ikuyo Nitta, was not available for immediate comment last night. Police also responded and classified it as a noncriminal injury case.