KAHALU'U — Police estimate that Patrick Davis was traveling 80 mph to 100 mph when the car he was driving ran off Kamehameha Highway and struck a utility pole, killing him and his infant son.

Not long after the 8:20 a.m. crash yesterday, Richard Davis was on his way home to Waikane and thought he recognized a mangled heap of metal that lay north of the Hygienic Store. He prayed it wasn't his son's car.

It was. But a closer look showed that the body lying on the ground near the 1995 Acura was that of his nephew, Patrick. The child, 9-month-old Kingston, was still strapped in his infant seat.

"Right there my heart wen drop and I wanted to fall," Richard Davis said later from his home. "The cops was holding me."

Patrick Davis, whose age was given by police as 22 but by relatives as 28, was driving a car that fit the description of a vehicle reported to police dispatchers as speeding and overtaking cars just before the crash, police said. Police said several calls came in reporting a reckless driver.

The speed limit in that area of Kamehameha Highway is 35 mph.

Police said the car was going so fast prior to the crash that it sheared in half on impact and left debris spread over nearly 50 yards. The severity of the damage led to preliminary estimates that the car was traveling at least 80 mph.

Vehicular homicide investigator Sgt. Michael Brede said Davis was northbound on Kamehameha Highway before the wreck, which occurred 625 feet north of Waihe'e Road in rainy weather. Davis lost control of the vehicle, veered over the right shoulder of the road, spun clockwise and struck the utility pole, Brede said.

He was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. The infant, who was in a child-safety seat, also was pronounced dead at the scene.

Half of the car was left on the road; the other half ended up in the marsh next to the highway.

The deaths were the 22nd and 23rd traffic fatalities on O'ahu this year, compared with 18 at the same time last year.

The police investigation into the accident closed Kamehameha Highway for about four hours. Traffic was rerouted through the narrow back roads of Kahalu'u, and vehicles backed up when a large truck stalled.

TERRIBLE 2 WEEKS

It was the second time tragedy has struck the family in two weeks. Patrick Davis was related to a 2-year-old girl who died March 6 after a Chevy TrailBlazer backed over her in a Hau'ula driveway, said Kaleo Davis, Patrick's cousin and the cousin of little Teysia Aku.

Kaleo Davis said Patrick was a good father who loved his son; Patrick, he said, was like his little brother. The crash yesterday was a flashback to the accident that took Teysia's life two weeks ago.

"I just got over another tragedy, now there's another one," said Kaleo Davis, also Richard's nephew. "Things ain't going good for me this morning."

Richard Davis said he didn't know why Patrick was out.

Richard Davis had left home to pick up some ice cubes at about 8 a.m. and came upon the crash on his way back.

"I was just talking to him this morning," he said choking back tears. "We was laughing and everything."

Patrick Davis lived next door to his uncle with his son and the child's mother, Hannah Pascual, Richard Davis said. An accomplished mechanic, Patrick was sought after to repair cars for friends and family, plus he was always working at his uncle's fruit stand in Waikane.

Davis said his nephew was a good kid, loved by his cousins, and the baby loved to come over to visit and play with them.

"My kids they loved their cousin," he said. "He (Patrick) was more like my son. The baby was just a cutie and I seen him this morning. He was calling me and I was going to take him to my house."

SEEKING SOLUTIONS

Speeding on the highway through Kahalu'u is a persistent problem that the community has complained about and sought solutions for decades.

Roadside memorials are a grim reminder of past incidents, including one last year in which a woman died in a crash outside the Hygienic Store. Other crashes weren't deadly, but Kahalu'u Neighborhood Board members worry about speed contributing to the problem and have asked for solutions.

One remedy that could have helped was a roundabout that was approved, funded and then killed, said Ken LeVasseur, Kahalu'u Neighborhood Board member.

"Our research is it's the safest alternative," LeVasseur said, but added that at the speed the driver was going it's not clear if the traffic safety feature would have made a difference.

The state is suggesting lowering the speed limit, but he said he doubts that would help either. LeVasseur said he prefers pulloffs where slower cars can get off the road to let others go by.

"Reducing the speed limit only increases the fines (collected) and risk of loss of license," he said. "It doesn't do anything to slow down traffic."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.