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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 9, 2005

State sued over traffic death

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — The parents of a driver whose car tumbled 150 feet down a West Maui cliff on April 13, killing two people, have filed a lawsuit against the state, saying guardrails would have prevented the accident.

Denise Callo had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal threshold for drunken driving, and had used marijuana, when her car slipped off this cliff off Honoapi'ilani Highway on Maui.

Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser

The complaint filed this week in Maui Circuit Court by Annette and Ernest Callo acknowledges that Denise Callo, 34, was intoxicated, but claims state officials should be held accountable for her death because of their failure to install a barrier at the unpaved area along Honoapi'ilani Highway where the car went off the cliff.

Autopsy results indicated that Callo had a blood-alcohol level of 0.27 percent, more than three times the legal threshold for drunken driving, and had used marijuana.

Callo was at the wheel when a 1992 Nissan sedan plunged over the side of the cliff, killing her and 16-year-old passenger James Makekau. A 16-year-old girl who was thrown from the car as it rolled down the cliff escaped with minor injuries, and her 3-month-old baby, who was strapped in an infant car seat, also survived the crash.

Police said the four Upcountry Maui residents had stopped at the overlook after a day at the beach in West Maui. While Callo was attempting to make a U-turn to return to the highway, the right front tire caught the edge of the cliff, causing the car to fall to the rocky shore below.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying officials had not seen the complaint.

At the time of the accident, Ishikawa said the DOT intended to review the safety situation at the lookout.

The open, unpaved area is a remnant of the former highway. Although it is not a formal scenic lookout with signs and marked parking, many motorists turn off the busy Pali highway to stop there, especially during the winter when humpback whales can be seen just off the coast.

The Callos' attorney, James Krueger of Wailuku, said yesterday that it's hard to believe the state left the cliff area exposed. Krueger said he was involved in two or three similar cases on Hana Highway in East Maui, another state road with dangerous cliffs.

"They should know better," he said.

Callo, a 1989 graduate of Maui High School, was a waitress and the mother of a 12-year-old girl.

An aunt, Bonnie Baylosis, previously described Callo as a "good-hearted, sweet girl. ... A little headstrong, but sometimes that gets you through life."

Krueger said the parents are grief-stricken and hoping they can force the state to fix the problem before someone else gets killed.

Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880 or thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com