2 killed in plunge
off Maui cliff

A teen and her baby survive
the car's slide from a turnoff
past the Lahaina pali lookout

WAILUKU » A Maui woman and a teenage boy were killed, and a 3-month-old baby girl was flown to an Oahu hospital, after their car plunged down a 150-foot cliff near the Lahaina pali lookout.

Dead were Denise Callo, 34, and James Makekau, 18, both of Pukalani.

The baby's 16-year-old mother survived with minor abrasions. The baby, who had a bruise over her right eye, was taken to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children on Oahu for further tests, her great-grandmother said.

The great-grandmother, Mary Goodman, who spoke briefly with reporters last night, said the baby had vomited but showed no signs of internal bleeding and was conscious. "So it's a good thing," she said.

The accident occurred on Honoapiilani Highway a little before 5:17 p.m., on a winding stretch of coastal road used mostly by motorists going from Kahului to Lahaina.

The state has a Lahaina lookout similar to Oahu's Pali lookout, with parking, a sidewalk and a barrier. About a quarter-mile beyond on the way to Lahaina, a gravel road turnoff also allows visitors and residents to park and enjoy the view. There are no barriers there.

The 16-year-old told police they were parked at the gravel overlook and that the car was running when it moved.

"She was waiting in the car, and it went forward," traffic investigator Nick Krau said.

He said Callo was the driver, and Makekau was in the back seat behind her. The 16-year-old was a front-seat passenger, and her baby was behind her in the back seat. The two teenagers were ejected from the car, but the driver and the baby were not.

The Maui Fire Department's rescue helcopter airlifted the baby to the road and she was transported by ambulance to Maui Medical Center. The 16-year-old girl crawled up the slope to the road, rescue officials said. The helicopter also recovered the two bodies.

The deaths are the third and fourth Maui traffic fatalities of the year, compared with six for the same period last year.

Police were still trying to recover the vehicle on a rocky shoreline last night, and continuing to investigate the cause of the accident, Krau said.