Collision of car,
state truck lands
4 in hospital
Police say a car pulled out
By Jaymes K. Song
from a parking lot, and a
Honda swerved to avoid it,
slamming into the pickup truck
Star-BulletinA head-on collision seriously injured four people and paralyzed traffic this morning on Kamehameha Highway on the Windward side.
A newer-model Honda Accord sedan and a state pickup truck collided in front of Pat's at Punaluu, a hotel/condominium complex.
Apparently, one vehicle pulled out of the driveway, and the other vehicle slammed into it.
The accident blocked both lanes of Kamehameha Highway and caused long delays.
The 8 a.m. accident was expected to be cleared by noon.
When they reached the accident site, drivers who had waited in the quarter-mile line were told to turn around. Herbert Paka decided to wait it out alongside the road.
He said it would be crazy to drive all the way around the island to get to neighboring Hauula.
People on buses were dropped off at one end, walked past the accident site and were picked up on the other side.
The Honda's front left side was demolished, with glass, hoses and bumper scattered around the roadway.
Police said a car was pulling out from the condominium complex parking lot, and the Honda swerved to avoid it, slamming into the pickup truck.
One witness saw the accident a little differently.
Bobbie Hanohano, whose sister was driving the car that police said was pulling out of the driveway, said the accident wasn't her sister's fault.
Hanohano said her sister was already driving along Kamehameha Highway when the Honda tried to pass her.
"I was freaked out," said Hanohano, who lives at the complex.
At 10:40 a.m., traffic was being rerouted through the complex parking lot.
Two men and one woman in the Honda and one man in the pickup were airlifted to Queen's Hospital.
A hospital spokeswoman said all four were in guarded condition this morning.
