Bystanders should not
have moved crash victimThe would-be good Samaritans may
have contributed to a deathHILO >> Actions by would-be good Samaritans may have contributed to the death of a Big Island woman whose car overturned yesterday, according to descriptions given by officials.
The victim in the one-car accident was identified by police as Jo Anne M. Diotalevi, 59, of Waimea, Hawaii.
She was a well-known puppeteer, story-teller, and a founder of the group called “Puppets on the Path.”
Diotalevi had a pulse and was talking according to a caller who first reported the accident to Hawaii Fire Department paramedics.
Fire Capt. David Wung, head of the paramedic team that responded, said a fire official told at least one caller not to move the victim.
But it is not clear whether that message was relayed to bystanders who tried to right the vehicle.
Wung was upset at the bystanders disobeying dispatcher instructions not to move Diotalevi. “When someone tells you don’t do it, don’t do it,” he said.
When paramedics arrived, Diotalevi was upside down with her weight resting on her head and her neck bent at a 90-degree angle, Wung said.
She was dead when they arrived, he said.
Wung said he didn’t know whether moving the vehicle contributed to Diotalevi’s death, but he added, “It probably didn’t help.”
Police, who received the accident call at 11:08 a.m., said Diotalevi was driving a Toyota multi-purpose vehicle up the steep road between Honomu village and the tourist destination Akaka Falls when she lost control, hit a guard rail and overturned. They said speed is believed to have been a factor in the accident.
Wung said the Fire Department was told that the vehicle was on its roof, but when his personnel arrived, bystanders had turned the vehicle on its side.
Police said Diotalevi was not wearing a seat belt and Wung confirmed that his personnel found her body loose in the car with various items thrown up against her.
An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.
Diotalevi’s death was the 20th Big Island traffic fatality of the year compared to 12 at the same time last year.