WAILUA n An automobile accident in Wailua involving two male visitors from Montana was detected yesterday by employees of On-Star GPS System based in Detroit, Michigan, according to county officials. Anthony Baker, 23, and Ryan Douma, 22, were traveling on
WAILUA n An automobile accident in Wailua involving two male visitors from Montana was detected yesterday by employees of On-Star GPS System based in Detroit, Michigan, according to county officials.
Anthony Baker, 23, and Ryan Douma, 22, were traveling on Loop Road in Wailua Homesteads when their rented Chevy SUV was swept into the rushing stream. They escaped unharmed, according to a county release.
An On-Star official contacted the Kaua‘i Police Department at around 10:26 a.m. and informed them that the company had received a signal via satellite indicating that a “roll-over” accident had occurred north of Wailua Beach Park and that the airbags in the vehicle had deployed. She also provided KPD with information regarding the latitude and longitude of where the accident occurred, the release states
KPD officers Paddy Ramson and Shane Sokei, along with DLNR officers responded to the call and headed to Loop Road. They were able to drive over the first cement crossing on the roadway, but rushing water from the stream had made its way onto the second crossing, making this portion of the roadway impassable.
The officers saw two vehicles in the stream, the Chevy Envoy and a Nissan Xterra. They contacted the Department of Motor Vehicles and got the owners’ names. A towing company was called to recover the vehicles.
The officers learned that the Nissan Xterra belonged to the National Tropical Botanical Garden and that one of its employees had taken his dog with him at around 8 a.m. yesterday to search for hibiscus seeds in the area around Loop Road. Two hours later, when they attempted to return, the vehicle was swept over the edge of the road by rushing water. They managed to escape to higher ground.
