A sad day in Paradise

I just saw this today. Please be careful out there! Aloha! Link: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/artic...al/local02.txt

Maybe you can cut and paste the article or whatever it is. That website requires you to register to see it.

It was probably a depressing weather forecast showing a 10% chance of slight showers.... or something equally depressing.

Hi sorry about the link not working. Here is a copy of the story. Aloha Monday, November 13, 2006 Monday, November 13, 2006 9:21 AM HST Hawaii Volcanoes National Park officials have identified the five people who were killed in a bloody three-car crash Friday night near the 28-mile marker of Highway 11 between Volcano Village and the park's entrance. Dead are Samuel Hanry Furtado, 55, Loretta Kae Rafferty, 46, and Lucia Clearwater, 60, all of Volcano, plus Owen Lloyd Romaine, 30, and Candice Shonah Chisholm, 32, both of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. "Excessive speed and alcohol are contributing factors in this accident," HVNP Chief Ranger Talmadge Magno said in a written statement. A 2005 Porsche SUV driven by Furtado was traveling toward Ka'u when it crossed the center line around 10 p.m. It collided with a rented 2006 Chrysler Sebring convertible driven by Romaine. Rafferty and Clearwater were passengers in Furtado's SUV and Chisholm was a passenger in the Sebring. The SUV then made impact with a 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo sedan. The driver, Antony Gross, 37, of Keaau, was taken to Hilo Medical Center and then transferred to The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, where he was listed in fair condition. Gross was heading home after a shift as a waiter at the Volcano House Restaurant in the park. His passenger, Daniel Roland Fisher, 43, of Volcano, another Volcano House waiter, suffered only cuts and bruises. According to KHON, Furtado was a carpenter and contractor and a cousin of State Rep. Bev Harbin of Honolulu, who told the television station that he was like a brother to her and that she had seen him hours before the mishap. "The family is in very deep shock," KHON quoted Harbin as saying by phone from Volcano. "We had to fly his daughter, who's my goddaughter, in from Las Vegas where she's a junior at University of (Nevada at) Las Vegas." Fisher, who told KHON that he knew Furtado, had a different recollection. "He's a drunk," Fisher told the TV station. "He's always coming into our bar and (is) always drunk. He stinks because he drinks so much; his pores just reek of alcohol." Betsy Mitchell, president of Cooper Center Council, a Volcano community group, knew Rafferty, who was a substitute teacher. "Loretta Rafferty has been a valuable person to our community for a long time -- a hard worker, a teacher, has some children -- it's terribly sad," she said. Clearwater owned a home-based business, according to friend Pamela Gilot of Volcano. "Lucia was a wonderful human being, a shining light," Gilot said. "She was a sprightly, 98-pound woman, a bundle of energy, always willing to help people. She was a loving mother and a grandmother and had an eclectic array of friends." Another three-vehicle crash in the same area caused a single death in 1996, but generally the stretch of road hasn't been a problem, according to Lane. "We're still working on the on-site investigation to confirm the series of events," she said. "We've had other accidents, not many, and none of this size or so close to Christmas," Mitchell added. "It's very sad." A medical examiner from Maui contracted by the state is scheduled to perform autopsies of the five victims at Hilo Medical Center. Anyone with information is requested to call park dispatch at 985-6170. The Hawaii Police Department's Traffic Enforcement Unit is assisting in the investigation and reportedly has taken the three vehicles involved in the collision into evidence.

A bad Porsche driver. No excuse for that. Innocent people killed by an idiot.