Speaking up for Ulu; Honaunau Elementary students, parents, faculty call for safety changes following girl’s death

KAILUA-KONA — A truck sped by Honaunau Elementary School on Tuesday morning, where it was met by a chorus of disapproval from a group of sign-wavers gathered on the roadside.

They congregated there in an effort to send a simple message to motorists who frequently zip down Highway 11, often at speeds well above the posted limits: Slow down.

The fifth-grade class — along with parents, faculty and police — gathered Tuesday morning to speak up for Janexty Kamakamaeuluwehi Kaaloa, also known as Ulu, who was killed Nov. 2 in a crash just steps north of Honaunau Elementary as she walked home from school.

“It’s pretty sad when somebody gets hit by a car, and it doesn’t happen every day,” said fifth-grader Malina Chiddo, who witnessed her classmate being struck by a vehicle from the window of her car. “(Today) brings awareness to the people driving and tells them to slow down because they don’t want to hurt anybody else.”

The driver of the truck that claimed Ulu’s life, who was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide but later released pending further investigation, was heading south on the highway at the time of the crash, where the speed limit drops in rather rapid succession from 45 mph to 35 mph to 25 mph during school hours.

Officer Robin Crusat of the Community Policing Section in South Kona said police were aware of concerns even before the incident because of a multitude of complaints regarding motorists speeding. He said enforcement in the area was ramped up, but it appears to have had little impact.

Participants of the sign-waving campaign made suggestions about how student and pedestrian safety might be improved.

“We need flashing lights like they have at Hookena School,” said Kekoa Ramos, the father of Ulu’s classmate, Paris, who was close with Ulu since preschool. “It should be 15 mph around the school zone here. It doesn’t need to be a real long 15 mph, it could be a mile here and a mile past. It’s not going to take that long to go through.”

Paris’ mother, Heidi Gouveia, said repainting road lines, expanding the shoulder or creating a sidewalk would all immeasurably increase safety in the area.

“There are hardly any lines, and the lines are faded,” said an exasperated Gouveia. “If they expect the kids within a mile radius of the school to walk, then why is there not more safety around here for them to walk on the road? This is an elementary school, so where is the safety?”

Gouveia referenced a state Department of Education policy that says elementary students living within a mile of their school and high school students living within 1 1/2 miles of their school are eligible to ride school buses only if open seats remain after students who live outside those limits sign up.

DOE spokesman Brent Suyama said the policy was put in place because of limited bus space and financial constraints that don’t allow for expansion of the fleet.

Julie Kaaloa, Ulu’s mother, said the DOE’s bus policy is something she’d like to see changed, at least for students in the district who live on the highway within a mile of the school.

“We’d also like to see that every child living on the highway can ride the bus immediately. Since Ulu was a kindergartner, we’ve had to wait for her to be OK’d, so it’d be two or three months she couldn’t ride the bus,” Kaaloa said, adding Ulu chose not to apply for a seat on the bus this year as she favored walking.

Kaaloa also suggested modifications to the crosswalk, as it leads to the makai side of the road where there is no shoulder to protect against a steep drop off.

Tim Sakahara, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said anything to do with adding crossing guards to a crosswalk in a school zone would be handled by the school. Where the DOT is concerned, he said, signage and speed limits are set based on several factors including roadway classification and characteristics, roadside development and environment, parking practices and pedestrian activity, among others.

Sakahara added that his department is reviewing the incident and hasn’t ruled out changes in the area.

The sign-waving event Tuesday was organized after Honaunau principal Noreen Kunitomo reached out to police to inquire as to what a group of students eager to remember Ulu could do to honor their friend.

Kunitomo said losing Ulu sent ripples of grief to every corner of Honaunau.

“We’re a very small, rural community, and many of the families are intertwined and connected,” she explained. “No matter what kind of situation happens in our community, they always feel it, especially when it’s so tragic.”

“She was a child that made teaching and loving her easy, enjoyable and rewarding,” said Honaunau fifth-grade teacher Shanti Fryar. “This tragedy has deeply affected all of us, but the children are remarkably resilient. During our flower planting activity for Janexty in our garden, her mom told all the kids that Janexty would have wanted them to be happy. They’ve taken that to heart.”

Ulu’s classmates spoke somberly, respectfully and eloquently as they remembered her and took steps to help ensure no other child who attends the highway-adjacent elementary school meets the same end.

“It was really sad because she was the one that was always happy, and she never gave up, no matter what,” said Camilla Cancino. “She liked being happy all the time.”

“It was devastating,” said Dylan Jeawe-Aiko. “No matter what people said or did to her, she was still kind.”

As for what needs to be done to alleviate the constant threat speeding traffic poses to the student body, the kids were unanimous in their sentiment.

“A better speed limit,” Cancino said. “People, they don’t care. They just speed by and they’re not aware of anything.”

And Jeawe-Aiko had one more suggestion.

“Maybe in the meantime, we could have more police around for a little while,” he said.

Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.