DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Honolulu police officers and firefighters examined the scene of yesterday morning's fatal accident on the H-1 freeway westbound near the Waipahu offramp.
Families grieve
The one identified crash fatality
was a father of four who had told
his daughter he feared for his
safety on his highway job
Mariano Salangdron Sr. and driver Carl "Sonny" Koonce III were doing their early morning check for debris on the H-1 freeway before the opening of the ZipLane when two cars suspected of racing slammed into the rear of their flatbed truck.
The 49-year-old Salangdron, who was killed in the accident, worried about his safety on the job, said his daughter Kim Salangdron, 24.
"He was scared because of the job itself," she said. "It requires them to drop the cones, and that's the scariest part of it. Anybody at any time could actually slam into them. They sit on the back of the truck bed, where there's nothing to protect you."
COURTESY OF KITV4 NEWS
Mariano Salangdron Sr., who worked for Safety Systems Hawaii Inc., was among the four men killed yesterday.
Salangdron, who had worked for Safety Systems Hawaii Inc. for six years, was killed, and Koonce was taken to a hospital in critical condition, but was reportedly doing OK after suffering burn injuries and was being kept for observation.
State transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said the two workers were in the cab of the truck when the accident occurred. It is Safety System's responsibility to ensure its employees' safety while operating the ZipLane, he said.
He said the truck was equipped with flashing lights at the rear.
Safety Systems, contracted by the state to maintain the ZipLane, declined to comment on the accident or safety issues, citing the ongoing investigation.
Police said the truck was traveling at a normal speed in the left westbound lane of the H-1 freeway just before the Waipahu offramp when a speeding Mitsubishi Eclipse sports coupe collided with the rear of the truck and got wedged underneath. Upon impact, the truck's gas tank burst into flames reportedly as high as the light posts, police said.
A second Eclipse, which witnesses said appeared to be racing with and following closely behind the first, hit the first car and caught fire, police said.
When police arrived, all three vehicles were in flames in what one witness described as one huge fireball, police said.
Police shut down the freeway for six hours, snarling morning rush-hour traffic as cars were diverted off the westbound lanes of the freeway, clogging other roadways. Rubbernecking motorists slowed town-bound traffic.
The two persons in the first car were burned beyond recognition, police said. The second car's adult male driver was killed, and his adult male passenger, who was pulled out by a passer-by, was in stable condition.
Police believe the two cars' occupants were Army soldiers.
The Army confirmed one victim killed and another injured were Schofield Barracks soldiers but would not release their names pending notification of relatives.
Police and the Medical Examiner's Office did not release names or ages of any victims.
Ishikawa said that had the accident occurred just a half-hour earlier, it might have been a lot worse, since transportation crews were repairing potholes in the H-1 freeway's westbound lanes. However, those lanes were fully shut down from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., with safety measures such as cars with directional arrows and police assistance.
"I don't know if any of that would have helped," he said referring to the accident.
The Transportation Department is looking at possible safety measures for the ZipLane preparation work.
"Maybe we have to do full highway closures," he said, adding the department was criticized for freeway closures.
As for the ZipLane work, Safety Systems crews do that nightly, setting up cones and traffic signs in the airport area of the freeway. The crews patrol the route of the ZipLane, which extends from Waikele to the airport.
The crew would stop to pick up any debris to ensure nothing gets caught in the ZipLane.
Police are investigating whether the drivers of the two cars were racing, said Chief Lee Donohue.
Traffic Division Maj. Bryan Wauke said police had not yet calculated the speed, although witnesses report the cars appeared to be racing and were going well above the 55 mph speed limit.
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
A police helicopter landed on the closed portion of the H-1 freeway yesterday near the scene of the fatal accident, apparently to drop off a box to waiting officers. Four people died in yesterday's three-vehicle collision, believed to have been caused by street racing.
The accident scene was at the bottom of a slight slope in the freeway, and skid marks were found at the scene.
Police say racing is a serious problem. Police issued 378 racing citations last year, compared with 204 in 2002.
Wauke suspects there are many more speeders who do not get caught.
"We hear from the public, we hear from our friends and family that they encounter racing on the freeway," he said. "We cannot catch them all. It's up to people to drive responsibly.
"If we go purely on enforcement, we've done a lot."
Wauke said racing is often difficult to prove, and said police issued 37,373 speeding tickets last year.
"That's 100 a day," he said, which was up from 28,547 in 2002.
Police said 75 percent of fatal collisions involved speeding.
The Police Department is addressing the problems of speeding and racing with enforcement and education programs but is understaffed, Donohue said.
HPD has a speeding and drunken-driving night enforcement team of six solo bike officers and a sergeant, along with five officers who drive Camaros, along with regular patrol officers.
He said racing is an islandwide problem, especially on the Leeward Coast.
"We've clocked people going 120 mph," he said. "Complaints of racing continue to pour in."
Commenting on the deadly week of motor vehicle accidents on Oahu in which eight were killed, Wauke said: "Who would think there would be so many people losing their lives since Tuesday night? We're flabbergasted. I hope the weekend is better."
Kim Salangdron said she learned of the accident at 6 a.m. yesterday when her mother got a phone call.
"She woke me up and started to scream that my dad was in an accident," Salangdron said. "She couldn't take the phone calls, so she gave them to me."
Salangdron lived in Wahiawa with wife Linda, son Mark, daughter Kim and her two children.
"(Mariano) was the father of four children and a good family man," said Safety Systems spokeswoman Lessie Mitch. "We are grieving along with his family."
Friends and family members filled the Salangdrons' home yesterday.
"My dad had a big heart," Kim Salangdron said. "For whoever knew him, he was their guidance. Anybody who had trouble or a problem, you could just go to him, and he would give you advice."
The Salangdrons had been married for 23 years and have four grandchildren, with one on the way, she said. Mariano Salangdron was an active man who loved to play tennis and spend time with all his grandchildren, according to his daughter.
He is also survived by his children Melanie and Melvin.
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