Parents seeking safer crossing where teen was killed
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Marilene Bacani's parents yesterday gave Gov. Ben Cayetano a petition signed by 2,000 people asking that something be done about the crosswalk on Fort Weaver Road where Marilene, 16, was killed by a passing car the morning of July 9.
Advertiser library photo
Cayetano praised Alberto and Isabelita Bacani for trying to prevent another death at the crosswalk, but said under the law it will take legislative action, no sooner than May, to pay for a pedestrian-activated overhead traffic stop light or an underpass or overpass if one is justified.
Police are still investigating the July 9 collision that killed Marilene Bacani.
If something can be done, Isabelita Bacani said, "this will give us a happy feeling to know that our daughter did not die in vain.
"My daughter, she was just so smart; she doesn't want anything wrong not corrected," the mother said. "Our main concern is that no other family should experience what we are experiencing now. It is really hard."
The Bacanis and other family members and friends have been campaigning for improvements at the location ever since the collision. On the 9th day of every month since, they have gone to the Fort Weaver roadside in 'Ewa for two hours to hold signs asking for improved pedestrian safety there.
The location has been the subject of community concerns for years before Bacani's death.
The girl from 'Ewa Beach was crossing Fort Weaver Road near Karayan Road to get to a meeting. She was volunteering during summer vacation to help handicapped children, her parents said.
Police, who are still investigating the collision, said the girl was hit at about 7:33 a.m. by a car driven by a 66-year-old 'Ewa Beach woman who said she did not see the girl.
Neither speed nor alcohol were factors in the collision, which occurred at a point on the four-lane road where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour, police said.
Family members said the hazard is increased by the fact that there is a dip in the road near the crosswalk.
They said they understand the state Department of Transportation plans to install a pedestrian-activated yellow flashing light in the pavement in the crosswalk early next year. But, the Bacanis said, such a light would be a feeble effort usually ignored by drivers.
Almost a year before the collision, state highway officials said there was no money available for either an overpass or underpass, either of which would need extensive ramps to meet requirements for the disabled.
At the time, the state recommended against a pedestrian-activated yellow caution light in the crosswalk pavement, but did order an 80-foot section of new pavement striping and installation of new yellow fluorescent school crossing signs in the area.
Rep. Willie Espero, D-41st ('Ewa Beach), has urged improvement of a pedestrian underpass at a nearby cane haul road intersection, which state engineers said could cost $2 million.
Espero has asked Cayetano to use emergency financing for a pedestrian-activated overhead traffic stop light, but Cayetano said yesterday it is up to Espero and other legislators to authorize money if such changes are justified.
Espero is also asking the state to seek federal matching money for the underpass.
The Bacanis filed suit Sept. 5 against Janet T. Uchida, alleging she was the driver and that she failed to keep a proper lookout, was inattentive to her driving and failed to yield the right of way.
The parents' attorney, James Bickerton, said yesterday the suit was filed quickly to make sure police emergency tapes and other evidence were preserved for trial if necessary.
Bickerton, who was not present when the family met with Cayetano yesterday, said the state had not been named as a defendant, but "we are taking a close look at whether it meets standards to have an unsigned crosswalk near a school on a four-lane highway with a 45 mile-per-hour speed limit."
Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.
