June 18, 2004

• Our stats for traffic deaths on the Big Island are escalating out of control. We've had twice the fatalities so far this year that we had by this time last year. If I'm not mistaken, the latest puts us over the total for all of last year.

  
  

  Sometime today, a neighbor of mine, a 19-year-old kid, lost control of his vehicle right on the main boulevard within the subdivision we live in. As stated in the evening news report on TV, speed & alcohol WERE factors! There were 2 other kids in the car with him, but they're doing 'ok.'

  
  

  Mind you, the maximum speed within our subdivision is only 35, as I've mentioned before in blogs about my kitties being hit by speeding cars. Apparently, this kid never figured that out, or at least, didn't respect the laws & WHY they are there. This evening, when my son & I went to the Longhouse to check our mail, we noticed a small white cross erected in a front yard across from the Longhouse, with flowers all around it & the kid's first name lettered down the cross... Kawika.

  
  

  That corner where he wiped out is a BAD intersection. Not only is there high traffic, because of the Longhouse, but because it's right after a blind curve. Almost a year ago, the subdivision finally got the county to make the intersection a 4-way stop, in hopes that not another child would be hit by a car. One was years ago, while on a bicycle. Even since the 4-way stop was put in place, kids playing with their cars like toys would treat it as just another test of their limited driving skills by doing donuts in the middle or screaming their tires. It saddens me that so many kids nowadays think the privilege of driving a car is a RIGHT & just a game... like an extension of the GTA video game!

  
  

  Even when I was a teenage driver, I never pushed my driving skills test as badly as kids of today are. I was no saint either, but never endangered anyone. I played my driving on the go-kart tracks or Malibu Grand-Prix Raceway. Never on the roadways within residential areas or within the towns. Why aren't parents teaching kids responsible behaviors?

  
  

  Recently, my son got his driver's permit. Without driver's ed, he can't get his regular license until he turns 18, which is in 7 months. I let him drive to & from Hilo last week Friday. He did ok. He's taken my car to Waimea twice to the skate park, without me. One of his friend's is a licensed driver who went along. He did put a dent in one hubcap trying to parallel park when he hit a log that was sticking out, but otherwise the trips went ok. He seems to keep getting stuck behind exceptionally slow traffic.

  
  

  Speaking of my kitties being hit by cars, another one was 2 mornings ago. This one's nearly blind & until recently wouldn't go further than my front steps. My son found him when he was leaving to go skate at the newly opened park in Waimea. He brought him home, where I cleaned his face of blood. It appeared to be a mild facial hit, knocking out some of his front teeth. I left him to recuperate lying on the floor. A bit later, he moved to another spot, sitting up. The next time I looked, he was gone & I haven't seen him since. He's full brother to the one that rolled out from under a neighbor's van as she spend down the road in front of my house who I confronted. I wrote about him & posted his picture awhile back... Rhubarb. The one who was recently hit was named Rusty. I hope he turns up & is ok.

  
  

  Update 18 June, 10 AM:  Rusty turned up this morning at my feet as I sat on the loveseat. His nose & eyes were encrusted with blood & mucus, which drew my attention, since his breathing was noisy. I cleaned his face again & he's now on my lap, sleeping & purring.  As far as I know, he still hasn't eaten, but I'm sure he will soon. Perhaps I'll give him some soy milk, as I've done with other kitties on the mend. They seem to like it & it's most certainly helped them, speeding recovery.

  
  

  Also... a correction to the story about the kid who was killed in the accident in my subdivision. His name was Alika Kumai. Damn dyslexia struck again with how I heard his name over the news, combining his first & last names into another. I also hadn't gotten a good look at exactly what was lettered on the cross.

  
  

  A neighbor who heads up the Neighborhood Watch called me this afternoon with an update about the boy. He was apparently a quiet & helpful boy... not a trouble-maker. But his cousins, the 2 passengers (all 3 were ejected from the car) were trouble-makers, both juveniles. The car was the 19-year-old's grandmother's car, whom he lived with & helped. Now she has no running car & no one to help her on a regular basis.

  • 2:40 am
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