Kailua man killed in crash is 6th O'ahu traffic death in 2 days

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 36-year-old Kailua man was killed Thursday night when the car he was driving crossed into the lane of an oncoming vehicle on Keolu Drive, according to police.

The medical examiner's office yesterday identified the man as Michael N. Takara of a Keolu Drive address. He died at the scene at 11:47 p.m.

Takara was the lone occupant of a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme that was traveling south on Keolu Drive at a "speed greater than the 25 miles per hour limit," police said. His car crossed into the north-bound lane near Akumu Street and was hit by a 1992 Chevy Camaro.

Takara was thrown from his car. The three people who were in the Camaro were hospitalized and reported to be in in fair to guarded condition.

The Camaro's driver, a 36-year-old man, was in fair condition at The Queen's Medical Center with fractured ribs and a broken ankle, police said. A female passenger, 37, suffered head and neck injuries and was also at Queen's, in guarded condition.

Another man was in guarded condition at Castle Medical Center also with neck and head injuries, police said.

Thursday night's fatal collision, the sixth traffic death on O'ahu in less than 48 hours, raised the island's roadway death count for the year to 23.