A fatal collision yesterday near Olomana Golf Course on Kalanianaole Highway -- near the spot where a woman was killed in another head-on collision two years ago -- has renewed calls for road improvements to prevent more traffic deaths. Kalanianaole traffic death
renews calls for solutionsBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.comRamus Seabury, 62, of Waimanalo, died yesterday after a Nissan pickup truck crossed the highway's centerline and collided head-on with his Ford pickup truck near Kanapuu Drive.
The driver of the Nissan, a 19-year-old Kailua man, and his passenger, a 19-year-old Waimanalo man, received minor injuries.
Police said speed and alcohol appeared to be factors in the 4:31 a.m. accident and investigators have opened a negligent homicide case.
Two years ago, 32-year-old Lorrie-Ann Wiley died in a collision in the same area. Last month, 23-year-old Kam Williams was sentenced to 20 years in prison for driving while drunk when he slammed into Wiley's car.
Seabury's wife, Harriet, said she plans to speak to her district legislators to find solution to help prevent further fatal accidents in that area.
"I'm doing it for him so nobody else gets hurt," she said.
Sen. Fred Hemmings (R-25th District Lanikai-Waimanalo) said this morning he wants an aluminum guardrail installed immediately "along the curve that has caused these tragic accidents."
He said he wrote a letter this morning to the state Department of Transportation requesting that available emergency funds be used for the guardrail.
After Wiley's death two years ago, Hemmings wrote the Transportation Department to ask for installation of "rumple bumps" to warn drivers to slow down, he said.
"It's very evident that that wasn't enough," said Hemmings. "Obviously something has to be done and it has to be done immediately. We can't wait for another accident."
Rep. Tommy Waters (D-51st Lanikai-Waimanalo) agreed that some kind of barrier should be placed in the median as soon as possible.
"I think that a nice planter box that would divide the roadway would be a good idea," said Waters, who planned to talk to transportation officials today.
Waters said that there are plans to redo the highway from Olomana Golf Course down to the beach park and that a new design should factor in the hazards along this curve.
Seabury's son, Kekai, said his father woke him up to get ready for work yesterday. Afterward, his father drove off in his blue pickup truck toward Kaneohe Marine Corps base, where he worked as a cart attendant at Clipper Golf Course.
Kekai Seabury said he was driving along Kalanianaole Highway soon afterward when he saw two trucks at the accident scene. As he drove by, he noticed one of the two trucks did not have a tailgate, just like his father's.
"I knew already that was my dad's truck," said Kekai Seabury, who rushed to his father who was trapped in the truck.
Firefighters extracted Seabury from his overturned truck, and he was transported in critical condition to Castle Medical Center where he later was pronounced dead. Seabury was a retired foreman for Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co.
Seabury and the father of the 19-year-old driver were friends and used to play golf together, family members said.
Police said this is the 14th traffic-related fatality, compared with 13 fatalities at the same time last year. It also was the third fatal traffic accident on Oahu since Thursday.
Star-Bulletin reporter Sally Apgar contributed to this report.