'A terrible day' on O'ahu killed 3, injured 3 others in rash of car accidents
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
"It was a terrible day," Sgt. John Agno, acting supervisor of Honolulu Police Department vehicular homicide investigations, said of the five traffic accidents Sunday that left three people dead and three injured.
One of the two non-fatal crashes was a head-on collision on Farrington Highway near Honokai Hale at 1:49 p.m. Two people were taken by helicopter to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition.
Four vehicles, including one that overturned, were involved in a 12:29 p.m. incident on the H-2 Freeway in Mililani that resulted in one person in critical condition being flown to Queen's, according to Emergency Medical Service personnel.
The three fatal collisions occurred between 8:48 a.m. and 10 a.m.
A 19-year-old woman, identified yesterday by the medical examiner's office as Summer Takata, was killed in a collision at Manua Street and Makaweo Avenue in Wahiawa. Takata, a passenger in a Toyota 4Runner that was broadsided by a Honda sedan, was taken to Queen's and pronounced dead at 9:35 a.m.
The 53-year-old male driver of the 4Runner and the 71-year-old female driver of the Honda were not seriously injured. Police said speed may have been a factor on the part of the 4Runner and investigators are trying to determine if the Honda came to a complete stop at a stop sign.
In Sunday's second fatality, an 85-year-old Kapolei man died at Queen's at 11:24 a.m., about two hours after being struck and dragged 20 feet by a van near the access road to Tracks Beach near the Kahe Power Plant. The medical examiner identified the man as Bienvenido Mendez.
Police said a 50-year-old Pearl City man was reversing a van that struck Mendez, who was trapped under the vehicle.
A medical condition may have contributed to the third fatal collision Sunday, a head-on involving a Volkswagen Golf and city bus on Kamehameha Highway, about one-quarter mile from He'eia Kea Pier, at 10 a.m. A 67-year-old Kane'ohe woman, who was extracted from the car by firefighters, was taken to Castle Medical Center, where she died. The medical examiner's office did not release the name of the woman.
Agno said police are awaiting autopsy results to determine if a medical condition caused the woman to cross the center line and into the path of the city bus. Three people on the bus were taken to Castle with less-than-critical injuries.
The three deaths increased O'ahu's traffic toll for the year to 73. That compares with 61 on the same date last year.
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
