The 12-year-old turned her head to the left, saw that it was clear of traffic, and started to cross Ho'olaule'a Street.

Malia had passed the fourth white stripe of the crosswalk when she paused for a split second to allow a car headed downhill toward Moanalua Road to pass. But the car slowed to a stop before reaching the crosswalk and the woman driver motioned for Malia to continue walking.

Before she could take a step, "I got banged," Malia recalled.

The car that hit her came from Malia's left, headed uphill.

"I tried to get up and walk but then I couldn't breathe," said Malia, who was taken to The Queen's Medical Center where she was treated for injuries that caused her to miss nearly six weeks of school.

What happened to Malia and injuries to another Highlands Intermediate student and an elderly pedestrian on Ho'olaule'a Street in November have raised concerns by school officials about safety on the busy two-lane thoroughfare.

Part of the problem is that the street is wide enough for traffic to double up on each side, said Highlands Principal Amy Martinson.

"We have nice people in our community, but for some reason they're driving on Ho'olaule'a like a four-lane highway versus a residential area," Martinson said. "There are signs posted for 25 miles per hour but they drive faster than that.

"To me, if you're near a school you have to be extra cautious during the hours when students are either coming or leaving school," Martinson said. "We're in the business of education and we're trying to educate the public about school zones and the need to drive with heightened awareness. We're asking for community support. We tell our students do not jaywalk but even if they are in a crosswalk, will that stop speeding?"

Highlands Intermediate has an enrollment of 1,030 seventh- and eighth-graders.

Students and faculty took part in a sign-waving campaign in November to promote safe driving on Ho'olaule'a, especially between Ho'oma'ema'e and Noelani streets, above and below the school. During the three-day sign-waving period, school safety manager Joseph Aiwohi clocked the speed of cars from 7 to 7:45 a.m.

"There were 25 cars a day above the speed limit, some going 40 in a 25 zone," said Aiwohi, a retired Honolulu police officer with 29 years experience. "We've asked the city to put out the new signs (alerting the public of $250 fines for speeding in a school zone).

"To me, education is enforcement. They just don't realize they're speeding. What wakes people up is when one of their family members is injured or killed. We're trying to prevent that from happening."

Martinson and Aiwohi have advised city Transportation Services administrators and elected officials of the situation and recently asked the Pearl City Neighborhood Board for help.

"Our ultimate goal is traffic calming, like a roundabout at Ho'olaule'a and Ho'oma'ema'e to force vehicles to slow down because it wouldn't be a straightaway anymore," Martinson said.

An alternative proposal is for a raised concrete median on Ho'olaule'a Street.

When Martinson became Highlands' principal three years ago, she stopped the practice of a custodian setting up cones on the street before and after school principal because of safety concerns for the custodian.

One move to slow downhill traffic was to park school buses on the upside of the school's front entrance, thereby cutting down the width of the downhill lane.

In November, however, a student attempted to dash across Ho'olaule'a from the parked bus area to where her father was parked. The girl was not in a crosswalk when she was hit by a car headed up Ho'olaule'a.

"I saw her fly up in the air and bounce off the hood of the car," Aiwohi said. "She was severely injured. The driver left 32 feet of skid marks.

"When you have three people hit in a short period of time, I think there's a problem," Aiwohi said.

Malia Valencia-Kauhi returned to school Oct. 12 after weeks of physical therapy for left-side body pain from her neck down.

"We'll never let her walk to school again," said Shannan Martinez, Malia's mother. "We don't want the same thing to happen again."

The student injured in November has not yet returned to school.

"As a school, we're doing what we can do," Martinson said. "Now it's up to the government and the drivers to help keep our students safe."