A Nuuanu couple hopes the city will intervene to prevent the developer of Laumaka Estates from continuing to excavate a hillside behind their house, which was struck by a large boulder yesterday.

A 24-by-28-inch boulder apparently bounced down a steep hillside and crashed into the home of Bud and Cindy Johnstone yesterday afternoon, cracking the wall of the master bedroom.

“;We thought there was risk developing in this steeply sloped area,”; said Bud Johnstone, 65. For about 18 months he and other Nuuanu residents have asked for information and intervention from the city, and opposed and monitored the development “;to make sure people in the area are not harmed.”;

The Johnstones believe the boulder was dislodged at about 2:45 p.m. by heavy equipment operators who, despite being informed of the damage, continued to work just above the back yard of their home at 3425 Kahawalu Drive, where they have lived for 35 years.

Johnstone tried to call the city Department of Planning and Permitting yesterday to get the city to stop the work but did not get a call back.

“;We could have been sitting in there watching TV,”; said Bud Johnstone, the only one home at the time.

Cindy Johnstone, 63, pointed to the tiny statue of St. Francis, patron saint of the environment and birds, which sat a few feet behind the bedroom.

“;He didn't protect us,”; she said.

Had she been home, “;I would have been lying on the bed,”; likely with her head on a pillow propped against the now-damaged wall, she said.

Their daughters, who no longer live at the home, were glad their parents were safe. “;I can't believe it. I'm blown away that this even happened,”; said Marci Johnstone, 39.

The mud-caked rock left a path of brown splotches along the green hillside. It apparently went airborne, striking the corner of a storage shed built onto the outside of the house, leaving its thick mud print behind and breaking open the seam of the bedroom wall, built using single-wall construction.

The 45 acres above the homes are being developed by Patrick Shin, who did not return a phone call from the Star-Bulletin.

Johnstone was in his yard for 15 minutes before going inside and hearing a crash, and “;out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bedroom shutters jump out.”;

Of the workers, he said, “;The amazing part was they didn't even come down.”;

Cindy Johnstone said, “;This is a good example of what we deal with: total lack of concern for the neighborhood.”;

Tony Clapes, a neighbor and president of the Nuuanu Valley Association, asked the workers to stop but was met with offhanded remarks that “;accidents happen”; and “;people die every day.”;

The association “;sued the city because they weren't letting us know what was going on with this,”; Clapes said. The association wanted to see the results of soil, drainage and other reports the developer had prepared for the city's Department of Planning and Permitting.

Nuuanu Neighborhood Board member John Harrison is a former head of the University of Hawaii's Environmental Center. He reviewed and found the development's geotechnical report inadequate in addressing the risk of boulders and the instability of the area. He said the average slope of the area is 50 degrees.

Neighbor John Nakashige, 63, said, “;All of the neighborhood is concerned about rockfalls, especially with the construction up there. We're all opposed to any development.”;