Busy intersection sees 2 deaths
A collision more than two years ago killed a 93-year-old woman
Two pedestrians have been killed near the busy intersection of Makaloa Street and Kalakaua Avenue in a little more than two years.
A 73-year-old woman was fatally struck by a taxicab that jumped the curb at about 4:50 p.m. Sunday at a bus stop on the Ewa side of Kalakaua Avenue mauka of Makaloa Street.
And on Oct. 25, 2004, a 93-year-old woman died after she was struck by a produce van while she was in a marked crosswalk on Kalakaua Avenue near Makaloa Street. The pedestrian, Lan Sang Vuong, fell under the van and was dragged a short distance.
In Sunday's crash, police had said the 52-year-old cabdriver lost consciousness and went off the roadway before he struck the bus stop and woman.
The woman was taken to the Queen's Medical Center, where she later died.
Police said the cabdriver was also taken to Queen's in stable condition. His 45-year-old passenger did not suffer any injuries.
Identification of the 73-year-old woman has yet to be released by the Medical Examiner's Office.
This was the first traffic-related fatality for Oahu compared with one at the same time last year.
Police are continuing their investigation into the crash.
Officials of the taxicab company the driver works for could not be reached for comment.
Some area residents were unnerved by the crash.
"It used to be safe on the sidewalk," said David Cooper, a night manager at the Hawaii Prince Hotel who regularly frequents the bus stop to catch the bus to Waikiki from Makiki.
"Whenever I see a taxi, I'll wait for it to go by," Cooper said.
Motorists need to be more cautious of people, said Cooper's friend Raymond Vactor, a cook at Cheeseburger Waikiki who regularly walks to work along Kalakaua Avenue.
Rubble of broken pieces of concrete bricks and wood from the bus stop remained scattered on the ground yesterday.
Motorists need to drive more carefully in the area, said Glen Dymally, owner of Glen's Collectibles, located near the bus stop.
Some area business people noted the bus stop was moved farther down the roadway after a short Waikiki-bound lane was constructed on Kalakaua Avenue to allow motorists to make a right turn into Palama Supermarket.
The supermarket, on the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Makaloa Street, opened two years ago.