Faded silk flowers, a rusting cross and weather-beaten stuffed animals marked the spot where a young life was lost in a car crash on Kaukonahua Road in Wahiawa—a roadway all too often associated with deadly accidents.

But that particular death was 2 1/2 years ago.

Yesterday, fresh tire tracks in roadside weeds and a bent and twisted metal guardrail marked the site where a 28-year-old Waialua woman was killed in a new accident. The single-car crash also injured her passenger, a 21-year-old Aiea woman.

The Medical Examiner had not yet identified the driver yesterday.

Police say she was speeding in a 1997 black Ford Explorer when she crashed at 2:40 a.m. on Kaukonahua at the top of the infamous S-curve.

“;Because of the winding nature of the road, excessive speed plays a larger factor in collisions on this road because it is not very wide,”; Wahiawa police Sgt. Carl Thorstad said. “;The road tends to be unforgiving.”;

A blinking yellow light, arrows showing the road curves and rumble strips warn drivers of the upcoming turns. But many drivers apparently ignore the warnings or see them too late.

In yesterday's accident, the woman was Waialua-bound when she lost control, drove onto the left shoulder, crossed back over the roadway, struck a right-shoulder guardrail, then flipped over before skidding to a stop, police said. The driver, who was not wearing her seat belt, was thrown onto the pavement and pronounced dead at the scene.

The passenger, who was wearing her seat belt, was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in fair condition, police said.

Damage to the SUV was extensive, exceeding $3,000, police said. This was the 21st Oahu traffic fatality this year, compared to 25 at the same time last year.

Thorstad, who has traveled this roadway since 1979, also noted that some sections are lined with ironwood trees.

“;You run the chance of running head-on into a tree,”; he said.

Part of the extensive toll:

» April 7, 2009: A 76-year-old Waialua man was killed when he crashed his truck head-on into a tree on Kaukonahua.

» March 16, 2008: A 27-year-old Schofield Barracks man was killed when his speeding motorcycle crossed the center line on Kaukonahua and slid into an oncoming SUV.

» May 13, 2006: Two 18-year-old boys were killed and another permanently disabled when the driver was speeding on Kaukonahua, lost control near Thomson Corner and rolled over several times. The driver survived.

» April 28, 2004: Some 15 cows were killed when the truck they were riding in flipped near the S-turn.

» Feb. 17, 2002: A motorcyclist was killed in a head-on collision with a sedan at the S-turn.

Many traveling Kaukonahua exceed the speed limit, which is 35 mph in some sections and 45 mph in others.

“;On the winding sections, 45 mph is definitely too fast,”; Thorstad said.