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Circuit Court:
State liable for
unsafe intersection

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By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

A Circuit Court ruling in Kona in a traffic accident case found the state liable for an unsafe intersection on Queen Kaahumanu Highway at Police Station Access Road.

The ruling Friday stemmed from a weeklong trial in July. It also found liable defendant Danielle Bauer, a driver involved in a head-on crash that caused severe injuries to Jeffrey Kienker.

Kienker's lawsuit said the July 5, 1997, crash occurred at about 6 p.m. as Kienker was driving north on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, near its juncture with Police Station Access Road in North Kona. Bauer, to avoid rear-ending a vehicle stopped for vehicles turning left onto the access road, veered left and crossed the center line into the path of Kienker's vehicle, resulting in a head-on collision, the suit said.

The state failed to install left-turn lanes or take other safety measures for south-bound traffic at the intersection, which would have made the accident less likely to occur, the suit said.

Kienker survived the crash, but suffered severe emotional and mental distress, great pain and permanent injury, the suit said.

His lawyer, Joseph Ahuna, said Kienker's medical bills totaled more than $1 million. The July trial was only on liability. Another trial will be held later this year to determine damage amounts, which could run into millions, Ahuna said.

"I think the significance of this particular trial was that it woke up the state that they have to monitor changed conditions that occur on the highway," Ahuna said.

The state knew the traffic volume at that intersection had significantly increased over the years, but did nothing to provide safeguards against accidents, Ahuna said.

The deputy attorney general on the case had no comment on Friday's ruling.