Conrad Kawasaki
died here

A cross, flowers and assorted leavings mark the spot where Conrad Kawasaki was killed May 12 on a private Lanai Co. access road.
Photos by Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin

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By June Watanabe
Star-Bulletin

The body of the 35-year-old Lanai Co. worker, driving a load of dirt to the site of a planned luxury residential development at Manele Bay, was so mangled in the crash that the county coroner needed dental records to confirm what most people on this island of fewer than 3,000 residents already knew.

"A traffic accident on Lanai? Come on," said Ken Esclito, whose family roots here go back to 1930. Such accidents are rare on the island, where there aren't even any traffic signals.

Esclito, a registered nurse at Lanai Community Hospital, saw the body of his friend's kid brother, who used to tag along with them when they were all youngsters. It's an image he'll never forget.

Near the site of the accident - off a long, steep road with a spectacular view of Hulopoe Bay and the ocean in the distance - stands a makeshift cross, hung with leis turned brown in the sun. Artificial flowers, bright red and pink; a copy of Hawaii Trader, a boating publication; what looks like sand in a jar; unopened cans of Pepsi; a torn bag of chips and a bag of Pop Tarts adorn the memorial.

Julie Kawasaki said she prefers not to talk, "right now," about the death of her husband, the father of her two little girls.

But for resident Jana Kahaleanu, the death of her friend Conrad galvanized her into calling for the road - meant to allow construction crews to get to the development site - to be "closed immediately until such time that they can have engineers declare that this is safe for heavy equipment."

She also says she wants county engineers to check the safety of a wooden bridge built last fall over a kahawai (natural waterway) to allow truck access to the area where the Lanai Co. plans to build 425 luxury homes and condominiums on 319 acres adjacent to its Manele Bay Hotel.

Jana Kahaleanu feels the access road and this bridge are unsafe for heavy equipment. Her husband is a driver and she fears for his safety. She is not alone, but some folks are afraid to talk because they fear they may lose their jobs and homes.

"It is a private road, not for normal traffic," Hoadley said. "We believe the road is safe if the posted speed limit (20 miles per hour) is followed. There are no problems "that we are aware of at this time."

The issue of the road's safety is yet another facet of the continuing conflict between "The Company" and residents on an island that's 98 percent owned by Castle & Cooke Inc. (Dole Food Co. in December spun off its real estate and resort businesses into a separate company, Castle & Cooke, which oversees Lanai Co.)

It's a conflict born in recent years in the upheaval of the lives and livelihoods of the majority of people here. Where most Lanai folks once toiled for Dole plantation on the former "Pineapple Island," they now work in more genteel surroundings. Only a few token fields of pineapple now grow and Lanai's identity today is defined by two luxury resorts and plans for hundreds of million-dollar homes.

But the one dominant employer remains.

As does "the so-called plantation mentality where you don't make waves for fear of jeopardizing jobs, homes or opportunities for promotion," said Butch Gima, a state social worker.

Laverne Kanno, who grew up on Lanai and is raising seven children here, also characterized people who owe their jobs to the hotels as being "too scared . . .

to say anything about the company."

As a paralegal with the Legal Aid Society, speaking personally, Kanno feels free to say that the road in question is unsafe, pointing to the lack of runaway truck ramps, shoulders or safety rails.

Ron McOmber, whose battles with Dole and Castle & Cooke chief executive officer David Murdock have even made Page 1 of the Wall Street Journal, says the issue "is just another chapter" in the company's insensitivity to the needs and rights of residents.

"They need to make the road safe," said McOmber, maintenance supervisor at Lanai Community Hospital and president of Lanaians for Sensible Growth. "I don't want to use Conrad's death to poke David Murdock, but they cannot continue to sacrifice safety to make money for David Murdock."

Kahaleanu, meanwhile, is motivated by the fact that "I don't want my husband (who works for Lanai Co.'s rock and quarry division, like Kawasaki did) or anyone else's husband to die.

"It's not too much to ask of the company" to take precautions, she said.

While those interviewed - most not connected to the compa

ny - aren't as militant as Kahaleanu on this issue, they, too, are looking for assurances that officials care about their concerns.

"It would be nice if they could at least inspect it," Esclito said of the road. "You're talking about people's lives."

In fact, the Maui County Public Works Department was to send a construction inspector over today to look into concerns raised by Kahaleanu, director Charles Jencks said.

But he emphasized that it's a private road and, short of a glaring problem, "I can't shut it down" or force Lanai Co. to do anything.

Irene Ahuna, a shop steward for ILWU Local 142 and a bus driver for Lanai Co., ponders, then says, "It's kind of late to shut (the road) down. But it's at the point where you got to make it safe."

ILWU Local 142, the union to which Kawasaki belonged, also is looking into his death. It has no position regarding the road's safety, said Jerry Beth DeMello, business agent for Local 142, based on Maui. "We have received no complaints (from workers) regarding that road," she said.

But Irene Ahuna, who drives a shuttle bus for Lanai Co., says she and other drivers avoid the road as much as possible.

She remembers one day, "My husband was driving a low-boy, carrying heavy equipment, and the truck completely died. It started rolling back because the brakes didn't work."

"It's kind of late to shut (the road) down," said Ahuna, who also works at Lanai City Service, delivers the Star-Bulletin and is an ILWU Local 142 shop steward. "But it's at the point where you got to make it safe."

Although a final report is pending, the initial finding indicates there was no equipment failure on Kawasaki's truck, said Jennifer Shishido, state administrator for the Occupational Safety and Health Division.

Whatever the determination is, Shishido said her staff is working with Lanai Co. to prevent future accidents.

"What we're saying is that if there seems to be a concern from employees, why don't you take it a step further and identify those areas where it might be a concern?" she said. "Give them some training and assurance that they can negotiate those areas safely. That's just good human relations."

On another front, a member of the Lanai Planning Commission, which granted Lanai Co. a permit for the road, is also raising questions about the road's safety, albeit from a different perspective.

"It wasn't built or designed to be a (general) traffic road," said Joan de la Cruz, who owns the International Food and Clothing Center, a general store in Lanai City. The commission approved a five-year permit to use the road for heavy equipment, extending that permit last year for another five years.

"If they're going to be using it for heavy equipment, they should close it to the public," she said, adding that it otherwise is not dangerous to construction crews.

De la Cruz said she will ask county attorneys if restrictions can be set on the road's usage based on safety questions.

"Unfortunately, something had to happen before you look at it," she said.

For Pat Reilly, a counselor at Lanai High and Elementary School for 18 years, the issue is tied to "the integrity of the relationship between the employer and employee."

"A certain element of trust is needed," said Reilly, who grew up in a Pennsylvania steel town, where he said the question of safety was always foremost in the minds of mill workers.

"I'm not saying (safety measures) are not being taken, but that's been called into question. Maybe you need to do some things to rebuild that relationship. People are looking for reassurances. Let's sit down and talk about this."

Hoadley's response: "We're always open to input from the community."