Father, son killed on way to get birthday cake
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Leeward O'ahu Writer
Family photos
Donna Brzezowski sat beneath a palm tree by the ocean in Nanakuli yesterday and tried to make sense of tragedy heaped on pain and hardship. She came up empty.
Paul Brzezowski, left, and his 7-year-old son, Matt, were killed at a Farrington Highway intersection Friday night on their way to buy a cake for Paul's 48th birthday.
"I can't give my own family the answers," said Brzezowski, 46, who recently became homeless. "I have no answers. Everywhere I turn I come to a dead end."
Brzezowski's family clustered behind her near the beach, not far from where several of them live together in two tents. Where once there had been a family of nine, now there are seven.
Brzezowski's youngest, Matthew, 7, and her husband, Paul, had been mowed down in a crosswalk on Farrington Highway at 8:01 Friday night, an evening that began as a small celebration.
The two were on their way to Sack 'n Save to get a birthday cake for Paul, according to Brzezowski. Friday was his 48th birthday. They never reached the store, she said.
Mickey B. Card, who works at Sack 'n Save, remembers bumping into Matthew on a bus Friday afternoon.
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"He said it was his dad's birthday," said Card, who recalled Matthew as a friendly, inquisitive and "fun-loving" little boy. "He told me they were coming over later to pick up a birthday cake. I got off the bus, and he stayed on."
Donnalynn Brzezowski reflects on the traffic accident that took the lives of her husband, Paul, and son, Matthew.
Card remembered how the boy seemed excited by the idea of getting the cake. He was sad that his friend had been killed, Card said. Others in the neighborhood who knew the family were shocked by the death of the boy and his dad.
"Oh my gosh," said Ma'ili Elementary School principal, Linda Victor. "He was one of my students. All his brothers and sisters were my students. He was an active, good boy."
"He was a lovable and lively little boy," added Rosa Baldisamo, with the Sack 'n Save security team, who also saw the child when he would come to the store with his dad — a 300-plus pound man who could pass for Hawaiian, but who was actually half Polish and half Japanese.
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"He (Paul) was a fisherman, and he loved to dive," said Brzezowski's mother, Sylvia McShane, moments before a neighbor arrived at her home on Kookele Street in Ma'ili and tried to console her with a hug.
The damaged van that struck Paul and Matthew Brzezowski sits in the Pacific Mall parking lot. Paul was dead at the scene. Matthew was pronounced dead at Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.
"I lost my grandson," said McShane, breaking into tears and burying her face in her friend's shoulder.
According to police, Paul and Matthew were in the crosswalk Friday evening when a 56-year-old 'Aiea man in a brown 1986 Dodge van hit them. Paul was dead at the scene. Matthew, who was still breathing, was taken to the the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said alcohol was not a factor, and the speed of the van is unknown. They are still investigating.
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Brzezowski said she didn't know about the accident until two boys on bicycles rode up breathlessly to tell her. When a friend drove her to the scene, she said, police wouldn't allow her near her husband. The friend drove her to the hospital, where a doctor informed her that her son "didn't make it."
Honolulu Police Officer Gary Hunter sets up an automated speed display yards from the site of Friday’s accident where a van hit a father and son. Police said alcohol was not a factor, and the van’s speed is unknown. The accident is still being investigated.
Otherwise, she said, she doesn't know much about what happened. She tried to get a details from authorities, but, so far, she hasn't had much luck.
"By rights, the family should know what's going on," Brzezowski said.
Somehow, even through her tears, her loss, and the indignity of her family's homelessness, Brzezowski was able to maintain a resolute, indomitable spirit. She referred to herself as "temporarily homeless" and insisted her family would rebound. She said she has faith in the future.
Picking herself up and moving toward her remaining children, ages 16 through 24, Brzezowski reiterated her vow to lead her family to better times — because that's the way Paul would have wanted it.
"I'm not bitter," she said. "I've got a positive attitude. Their father had a lot of dreams — and I'm going to make sure they come true."
Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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Donna Brzezowski spent yesterday afternoon with family members on the Nanakuli beach where her family recently moved to live in tents. She said she vows to lead her remaining children, ages 16 to 24, to better times.
