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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, August 27, 2005

$2M settlement for death in 2004 crash

Advertiser Staff

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The family of a 49-year-old man who was one of four people killed in a fiery crash involving a flatbed truck and two cars on the H-1 freeway in 2004 has obtained a settlement of more than $2 million.

Mariano Salangdron Sr. was a passenger in the Safety Systems Hawai'i truck used to inspect a section of the freeway for the Zipper Lane at about 3:11 a.m. Feb. 13, 2004, when it was struck by one of two cars that witnesses said were speeding and possibly racing.

Police said the car struck the gas tank, starting a fire. The second car crashed into the wreckage and also burst into flames, police said.

The drivers of the two cars and a passenger in one of them also were killed.

Wayne Kekina, who represents the Salangdron family, said $2 million will be paid by the insurance for Safety Systems, and $10,000 by the insurance for Jason Bordwell, 22, one of the drivers killed in the crash.

Kekina said the amount is one of the largest for a traffic death in Hawai'i.

The relatives are still saddened over the death, he said. Kekina quoted Salangdron's wife, Linda, as saying, "I will pray every driver will stop racing on the freeways."

The truck's driver, Carl Koonce III, was also injured, but has reached a settlement, his lawyer Rick Fried said.

The two others killed were John Surwill, 23, and Shanta Bridges, 26. Bordwell, Surwill and Bridges were Schofield Barracks soldiers.