Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004

Lawsuit faults city in triple fatality

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

A lawsuit filed yesterday by families of three people killed April 16 at the Honolulu-bound entrance to the Wilson Tunnel says city negligence caused the sport utility vehicle they were in to be launched into the air and crash.

Joseph Naulu, 13, and Mary Irene Filimoehala, 19, both of Kane'ohe, and Winnie Naulu, 27, of New Zealand were passengers in a rented 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Jonathan Fonua, 19, that the lawsuit said struck the ramped end of a barrier near the tunnel entrance. In addition to the three passengers killed, the driver and two others in the Chevy Trailblazer — Emeline Naulu, 21, and Jasmine Lutui, 17 — were injured.

Emeline Naulu and Lutui also are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed yesterday at Circuit Court by attorneys Paul Cronin and Clarence Kekina. Both are claiming "serious and permanent" body injuries.

The suit says the crash was caused by the city's failure to "adequately warn of that danger or to take reasonable steps to reduce and/or eliminate that danger" in reference to the barrier.

Police said in April that the Trailblazer was speeding and that the driver appeared to have lost control near the left-banking turn near the tunnel entrance. The group were on their way to a wedding rehearsal.

Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.