Michael Pasoquen doesn’t blame the driver in a hit- and-run crash that may have contributed to the death of his 35-year-old son, calling it a “freak accident.”
His son Jonathan, a father of three from Wahiawa, died after crashing his Toyota pickup on the Airport Viaduct, then falling off the viaduct onto Nimitz Highway where he was struck by a hit-and-run driver Wednesday night.
Pasoquen acknowledged that it would have been unexpected for a driver to find something on the roadway, but he wonders what could have happened had the driver stopped and rendered aid.
“It’s possible he might have had a chance,” Pasoquen said by phone Thursday. “Who knows?”
On Thursday police were still looking for the hit-and-run vehicle, described as a dark-colored Volkswagen.
At about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Pasoquen was driving a Toyota pickup Diamond Head-bound on the H-1 freeway when he struck a plastic traffic barrier at the split to Nimitz Highway and the Dillingham Boulevard exit, police said.
Lt. Andre Peters of the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division said the driver struck his head on the front windshield upon impact.
The vehicle started to roll back after the crash. At some point Pasoquen managed to exit his vehicle. A witness observed him walking around the shoulder area of the freeway, near the crash site when, for unknown reasons, he went over the guardrail.
The pickup truck came to rest at the guardrail.
Peters said the driver may have been disoriented after he struck his head on the windshield in the crash.
He plunged about 40 feet to the ground on the highway. A driver struck Pasoquen, who was lying on the roadway. The driver fled the scene, heading toward Diamond Head.
Based on the debris left behind on Nimitz Highway, the vehicle that fled the scene sustained heavy damage to its undercarriage and possibly lower front-end damage, Peters said.
Emergency Medical
Services transported Pasoquen in critical condition to a trauma hospital where he died.
Michael Pasoquen said he was still struggling from the loss of his youngest daughter last summer when he received news that his son had died.
“Almost running out of tears,” he said by phone Thursday.
He didn’t know where his son was headed the night of the crash, but he may have been going to visit friends in Kalihi. He said his son was a loud-spoken and friendly person.
“He’s one of the guys,” his father said. “He’ll make a party come to life.”
He recalled in his last conversation with him on the night of the crash, Jonathan thanked him for what he and his wife had done for him.
Al Medeiros, a local promoter and longtime friend of Jonathan Pasoquen, said Pasoquen had a big heart, was a big supporter of others, had many friends, acted like a big brother to others and was ready to help with jobs such as construction or carpentry. He also had a love of motorcycles and sports cars and was a skilled mechanic who could take apart and rebuild a car engine.
Medeiros said he hoped the other driver would turn him or herself in to help the family find peace.
Pasoquen leaves behind three children:
Akoni, 19, Bronson, 7,
and Sarah, 4.
Police said it’s unknown whether speed or alcohol were involved. The investigation is ongoing.
It was this year’s second traffic-related fatality on Oahu, compared with none at this time last year.
Anyone with information is urged to call HPD’s Traffic Division at 723-3413.
