'EWA — O'ahu registered its 13th pedestrian fatality yesterday — three ahead of where it was last year at this time.

The accident occurred as lawmakers continue to debate how to improve pedestrian safety.

One man was killed and another seriously injured when a van driven by a 19-year-old 'Ewa resident veered off Fort Weaver Road and struck the pair as they were working on the side of the roadway early yesterday afternoon.

Police officers said the driver told them that he fell asleep at the wheel before the accident, which happened on the Kapolei side of Fort Weaver just mauka of the recently opened Keaunui Drive intersection at about 1:20 p.m.

Lisa Reimann-Siu, a motorist whose vehicle was behind the white Chevy van driven by the 19-year-old, said it was "severely out of control" when it veered off the road and struck the two men.

The medical examiner's office identified the deceased man as Maurice Kong, 56.

The other man, identified by a co-worker as Fau Mautautia, was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition. Paramedics said he is 35.

The two men were employees of Paul's Electrical Service, said company president Paul Adachi. He said two of his employees who had been working on landscape lighting in 'Ewa had been struck and that one was dead, the other injured. He declined to name them.

But Pu Kuwaa, who told reporters at the scene that he is an operator for Paul's Electrical, identified the two men.

The driver, whom police would not identify, was comforted by his fiancee who showed up after the accident.

The driver said he wanted to apologize to the family of the victim. Two women, identified as the wife and daughter of Kong, came to the scene.

The driver said, "I like tell them to their face without you guys (media) around. I goin' tell them sorry ... not with you guys around, though."

Overcome by emotion, Kuwaa described Kong as a foreman whom he had worked for. "He was a good guy, down to earth," Kuwaa said. He also identified Kong as a family man and the father of two children.

Kuwaa said Mautautia is a laborer who lives in Nanakuli.

FUNDS FOR UPGRADES

A string of nine pedestrian fatalities in the first two months of this year led the Legislature to allocate $3 million of highway funds to improve the 50 most dangerous intersections for pedestrians.

Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed the measure, saying the law was written in such a way that the highway funds can't be leveraged to get a federal match. The Legislature overrode the veto, but Lingle has not released the $3 million.

Transportation officials said last week the state will spend $18.5 million in state and federal money over the next two years to improve pedestrian safety at projects already in the works. The improvements include restriping crosswalks, installing crosswalk timers and adding sidewalks.

The senior citizens advocacy group AARP questioned the effectiveness of the $18.5 million in spending, saying targeting the most dangerous intersection might be more helpful.

Lt. Darren Izumo, of the police department's Vehicular Homicide Division, said neither alcohol nor speed appeared to be factors in yesterday's accident. "He (the driver) did admit to falling asleep at the wheel," Izumo said.

The two workers appeared to have been working in a dirt area at least 20 feet beyond the shoulder of the road when the van struck them. There is no raised curb where the van went off the road.

A negligent homicide investigation has been opened as is common in a collision involving a fatality.

The incident took place in front of 'Ewa By Gentry's new Latitudes subdivision, which opened in early July. The section of Keaunui near where the men were struck, as well as a new traffic signal, also opened about the same time.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.