POV the witness

Stop! The jeep is not going to make it! The intersection is too big! The other cars can’t see the jeep!

I saw the white car hit the tail-end of a jeep filled with young people. They seemed to be coming from the beach. The jeep spun out and hit an SUV in the lane next to the white car. The car behind the SUV could not stop in time and ran into the SUV’s back.

What a mess! I called 911 and asked for multiple ambulances because there were many so people who appeared injured and unable to get out of their cars. The location was the intersection of Kahala Ave and Kaalawai Place. The 911 personnel asked me approximately how many people appeared injured. I guessed and said that I could see 8 injured, 4 in the jeep, 1 in the white car and 3 in the SUV. The people in the other car did not seem to be hurt. They’d already exited the car and were standing unaided.

By this time, there were many people milling around the intersection. Most were pedestrians stopping to offer aid and assistance. Some of the accident victims were stumbling out of their smashed cars. The kids in the jeep looked badly injured and were unable to get out of their car. The lady in the white car was not moving. I could see a lady trying to talk to her and probably attempt to keep calm.

Two fire trucks sped into the intersection. Suddenly, there were many firemen descending on all the cars. I could see the firemen trying to talk to all the accident victims. Many of the injured remained in their cars. They must be waiting for the ambulances.

I could hear more sirens approaching the intersection. Police cars began to pull up. Immediately, officers took control of the traffic backed up on Kahala Ave. They closed off the intersection and
expertly directed the blocked traffic away from the crash sites. Ambulances arrived. There were 3. Quickly, each ambulance was filled with 2 to 3 of the injured. They rushed away, sirens blaring.

Other officers interviewed the non-injured accident victims (only 2 were left) and the numerous witnesses. Finally, an officer asked me what I saw. I told him that it was clear to me that the jeep caused the accident by trying to cross Kahala Avenue when it did not have the right of way. Unfortunately, because Kaalawai Place is so much lower than Kahala Avenue, the other drivers could not see the jeep entering the intersection. What a mess.