Why the road closure?
Perhaps someone can explain why a two-vehicle crash near Halfway Bridge at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning (Jan. 12) resulted in (essentially) closure of Kaumualii Highway until 11 a.m., with traffic backed up for miles and still not back to normal until after noon.
According to TGI, truck A crossed the center line and struck oncoming truck B resulting in the death of driver A and injury to driver B. The account of driver B and physical evidence indicates the circumstances of the event.
As to the cause, forensic evidence will indicate if driver A was impaired by drugs, alcohol, or cell phone use. Or perhaps driver A had a medical emergency or fell asleep.
In any case, the unfortunate death of said driver renders criminal investigation irrelevant. The scene could have been photographed, damaged vehicles removed and traffic restored within an hour. Investigation could then proceed in due course.
How many people could not get to work that morning? How many people missed flights and how many others were similarly inconvenienced? My wife, a physician at Wilcox Hospital, could not get to work until after noon, nor could other hospital staff who reside on the south or Westside. Fortunately there were no life-threatening emergencies that morning, but that will certainly not always be the case.
If the highway must be closed for a valid reason, why not alert the general public? Whenever we have heavy rainfall we receive flash flood phone warnings at any time of day or night. Could similar warnings be issued for road closures so people can plan accordingly? Just asking.
Robin Clark, Kalaheo
