Posted on: Thursday, July 29, 2004

Baby in fatal crash was sitting in lap

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

HILO, Hawai'i — Police said none of the five children involved in a Ka'u car accident Tuesday, including a 1-year-old boy who died, was in a child safety seat or wearing a seat belt.

The infant, Luke Ault Jr., was sitting in his mother's lap in the front passenger seat of a Honda heading west on Palm Parkway in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates when the car crossed the center line and collided with a Toyota just before 9 a.m., police said. The baby was pronounced dead at 1:49 p.m. at Kona Community Hospital.

The boy's parents, Luke Ault, 27, who was driving, and Napualani Galletes, 23, were in stable condition at the hospital. Chayla Ault, 2, was last reported in critical condition; Titan Ault, 5, and Tiana Ault, 11 months, were in stable condition; and Staysha Ault, 6, was in serious condition, police said.

The driver of the Toyota, Jake Torres, 16, also of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, was wearing a seat belt and suffered minor injuries, according to police.

Anyone with information on the crash should call officer Bradley Freitas at (808) 961-2332 or the police nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311.