Windward crash kills dad and son

Slick and wet road claims lives of a Waikane man and his infant son

A 22-year-old Waikane man and his 9-month-old son were killed yesterday morning in a one-car wreck on rainy Kamehameha Highway.

Family members identified the driver of a white-and-gold Honda Acura as Patrick Davis and the infant in a car seat in the front passenger seat as his son Kingston.

The car was northbound, "traveling at a speed greater than was prudent for the weather" on Kamehameha Highway 625 feet north of Waihee Road at 8:15 a.m., when the driver "lost traction and veered to the right shoulder," Sgt. Michael Brede of the Honolulu Police Traffic Division said in his report.

The car slid and struck a utility pole, shearing the car in half, Brede said.

Both the man, who was thrown from the car, and the child were pronounced dead at the scene, Brede said.

Davis, girlfriend Hannah Pascual and their child lived in Waikane with his uncle Richard Davis, who operates the Waikane Fruit Stand fronting Kamehameha Highway.

Richard Davis came upon the accident scene yesterday morning and recognized the car, which was "split in half," he said. Police had to hold him back from trying to reach his nephew's body.

"I was hoping he was all right. I just wanted to hug him and love him," Davis said. "I don't wish things like this on anybody."

Patrick Davis, who would have turned 23 on Saturday, "was a good kid" who had attended Kamehameha Schools and Castle High, and who helped at the roadside fruit stand and was an excellent car mechanic, Richard Davis said.

"I raised him like he was my own," Davis said. "He does everything, no complaints. He was a jack-of-all-trades."

Clarence "Kaleo" Davis, a cousin of Patrick Davis' who lives in Punaluu, expressed regret that the extended Davis family had suffered two tragic deaths of young children in a short time.

On March 6, Teysia Aku, 2, was killed when a family member accidentally backed a sport utility vehicle into her and her 4-year-old brother, who survived, at the family's Punaluu home.

Services for Aku are expected this weekend, Kaleo Davis said. He said the two accidents bring home the message that adults must be careful with kids and cars.

"Kids are gonna be kids. You gotta check on them," he said.

The deaths yesterday are Oahu's 22nd and 23rd traffic fatalities so far this year, compared with 18 at the same time last year.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office will conduct autopsies to determine causes of death and check for alcohol or drugs in the driver, police said.

Traffic investigators would not estimate the speed of the car at the time of the accident. The speed limit there is 35 mph.

Police diverted traffic onto Wailehua, Ahilama and Waihee roads during their investigation. For several hours, police contra-flowed traffic on Ahilama Road around a stalled Honolulu Disposal Service truck that blocked one lane until about noon.