GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM Kalena Dougher mourns the death of her 16-year-old son, James Makekau, and her 34-year-old friend Denise Callo at the Lahaina pali overlook where the car tumbled down 150 feet. Maui police investigators are continuing to probe the cause of the April 13 incident.

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Grief lingers 2 weeks
after fatal Maui crash

A probe continues into a cliff plunge
that killed two people

WAILUKU » In a short time after a car tumbled off the Lahaina pali overlook, Kalena Dougher lost not only her 16-year-old son, James Makekau, but also her friend Denise Callo.

"I don't know what to think," said Dougher, looking over the cliff where the car fell 150 feet.

More than two weeks after the fatal April 13 plunge, Maui traffic investigators continue to probe the cause of the one-car crash that also left 3-month-old passenger Kaila Kuulei Callo in critical condition.

Kaila, whose health has improved, was listed Friday in stable condition at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu.

Maui police Lt. Jeffrey Tanoue said there are no indications the victims of the crash were intoxicated, but samples of their blood were being examined as a matter of procedure.

The results of the toxicological tests are expected to be completed within about a week and a half, he said.

Tanoue said the driver, Callo, and other passengers were in the car and driving out when it rolled on the passenger side down the cliff.

Dougher, who was not involved in the crash, said she, James and Callo lived in the same house in the back of a residence occupied by the injured infant girl and her mother, Tiffany Romena.

Kaila is the daughter of Denise Callo's brother, Dougher said.

Family friend Robin Kapua said Denise Callo and Makekau were gentle spirits. "They weren't thrill-seekers," Kapua said.

Dougher said Callo, 34, who was part Mayan, showed James how to cleanse his spirit in the ocean.

"They were always playing and laughing," Dougher said.

She said Makekau, 6 feet 3 inches tall and a sophomore at Baldwin High School who liked going barefoot because it put him in contact with the earth, was mature for his age and wrote poetry.

"He was always philosophical. He was a good writer," she said. "His biggest dream in the world was to have no war, no fighting, just peace and harmony."

Dougher read a piece of his writing found in her car saying: "Age is nothing but biological time on how long you have existed on Earth. It does not necessarily measure how much you have in your heart or in your brain."

Family members, relatives and friends have left various offerings for Makekau at the cliff side: mangoes, a box of Krispy Rice marshmallow bars, a Bob Marley T-shirt.

Dougher scribbled a message on a photograph of her son: "I miss you. Be at Peace. Watch over us. Take off your slippah."

She then sat down next to the photograph of Makekau. "I feel it's very soothing to come here," she said.