Eulogy for driver in crash conveys lesson to young
By Will Hoover
Advertiser North Shore Writer
Honolulu Police Department traffic cop Robert Prasser has handled hundreds of grisly car wrecks. But when he was called to a crash where five men and boys were killed outside Hale'iwa early Tuesday, he found a scene "that couldn't have been worse — because it was one of my own."
Prasser — who became assistant police chief in November — was not there as a professional but as a relative of the driver, Shannon Waiwaiole, 22.
Shannon Waiwaiole, 22, was returning from visiting Shark's Cove with his friends Tuesday.
Prasser identified the body as that of his nephew.
Yesterday, Uncle Bob delivered Waiwaiole's eulogy at an open-air service at the family home in Waimea Valley. Prasser's message was intended to comfort the more than 300 in attendance who, like him, were there to mourn the loss of the young man.
The message was delivered from the perspective of someone who has a long experience with life's hard realities. Every one of us makes mistakes, he said, sometimes big ones. And most of us get a second chance when we make that kind of mistake.
"But Shannon and his friends didn't get a second chance."
Waiwaiole, Patrick Askew-Jackson, 21, Kaimana Askew-Jackson, 13, Jose Delizo Jr., 17, and Rex Dicion, 31, were killed instantly when the Honda that Waiwaiole was driving slammed into a date palm at about
100 miles an hour. Tests by the medical examiner later showed that Waiwaiole's blood alcohol count was nearly twice the legal limit.
Police are still investigating what led to his car's hitting the tree while he was returning from visiting Shark's Cove with his friends.
Prasser was speaking to young people at the gathering when he said it's important to remember Waiwaiole.
"Remember the great times," assistant police chief Robert Prasser said. "But learn from what happened."
"Remember the great times," he said. "But learn from what happened. If Shannon could come back, I have no doubt that he would come up to this mike and say, 'Don't do what I did.' "
The Waimea Valley family setting was Waiwaiole's favorite place and the location of many festive gatherings, said Kahu Kenneth Segawa of Keali'iokamalu Church in Hale'iwa, where Waiwaiole was baptized. A large-screen video presentation of Waiwaiole's life showed a series of snapshots of a smiling young man who seemed very much alive.
"We all wonder why," Segawa said. "Shannon was a good boy. He is not with us physically, but he's with us spiritually."
Waiwaiole was described as a loving and devoted father. Friends and relatives recalled the former high school athlete as someone who could light up a room with his warmth.
"He gave us laughter," said Jeanine Pasoquen, Waiwaiole's hanai mother and the blood mother of his best friend, Kanoa Oreogero. "That was his brilliant gift."
All of which made the circumstances of the accident more difficult to comprehend. Thoughts and prayers went out to the families and loved ones of the other four victims in the crash.
"Some things are beyond our understanding," offered Kahu Gilbert Cera, also with Keali'iokamalu Church. "God has a purpose for each of us — even for Shannon. I admit it's hard to understand why God took Shannon, who we love so much."
But, he added, every life is a complete life and, in time, Waiwaiole's purpose would be known.
At the end of the service Segawa asked, at the family's request, that no more flowers be left at the accident site on Kamehameha Highway near Kawailoa Drive. The area has become a virtual memorial, with flowers, cards, messages and other remembrances.
"It's time to let him go," Segawa said. "Remember him, but let him move on."
After the service, Prasser paused to reflect on his nephew's life and death, and the deadly carnage he encountered in the wee hours five mornings ago. It was, he said, one of the most destructive accident scenes he has ever witnessed.
"I can say without exaggeration there was not one piece of that car that was not bent, broke or crushed," he said. "Nobody is denying that it's senseless. There's no doubt what Shannon's blood alcohol was. OK. We'll move on from there.
"Shannon was fun-loving. But that can be misconstrued. I described him as a conservative, friendly kid. He was a homebody, really. I would say that this incident doesn't characterize him.
"I just hope this is the last one we go through."
Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8038.
