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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 4, 2006

Man, 23, killed in crash on Date Street

By Robert Shikina
Advertiser Staff Writer

Darryl Hollingsworth was sitting outdoors, smoking a cigarette shortly before 4 a.m. yesterday when he briefly spotted a blue convertible zipping along Date Street near Iolani School.

He didn't see the westbound Ford Mustang crash into a parked pickup truck and a car near the intersection of Date and Mahiai streets. But the ear-splitting collision got Hollingsworth to his feet fast enough to see it flip over.

Hollingsworth was among several people in the area who dashed to the scene of the crash where the 32-year-old driver was partially ejected from the vehicle and his 23-year-old passenger was trapped underneath.

The driver said, "How's my buddy? Get this car off me."

Hollingsworth heard the passenger say, "My face is crushed, my face is hurting."

Anthony Caldiero, who was also at the scene, said he talked to the passenger for about 10 minutes before police arrived. "He wasn't screaming or doing anything like that," Caldiero said. "He seemed pretty well together."

Emergency responders pronounced the passenger dead at the scene at 5 a.m. The driver, whose leg had been pinned under the vehicle, was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for Honolulu Emergency Services Department.

Drugs, alcohol and speed were factors in the accident, and a negligent homicide case is under way, said Capt. Frank Fujii, a spokesman for the Honolulu Police Department. The city Medical Examiner's Office did not identify the passenger yesterday.

The crash marks the 57th fatal accident on O'ahu this year compared to 50 at the same time in 2005, police said.

Joseph Mantanona, who owns the pickup truck that was hit, said people often speed down the two-way street, which has space for cars to park along either side.

"There's a lot of accidents on the street," he said. "People drive excessively fast on the street."

Skid marks on Date Street yesterday showed the car had skidded more than 20 feet before coming to a stop.

Police are asking witnesses to call the traffic division at 529-3499.

Reach Robert Shikina at rshikina@honoluluadvertiser.com.