Margaret Lavin had only recently fulfilled a childhood dream and begun driving an 18-wheeler truck for a living.
Standing about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 120 pounds, she didn’t look like a typical truck driver or someone whose hobby was boxing.
Lavin, 34, was killed when her silver Honda sedan crashed into two other vehicles along Farrington Highway across from the Kahe Point power plant at about 8:22 p.m. Sunday. Seven other people, including two children, were hospitalized. All seven have since been released, police said.
James Lavin, Margaret Lavin’s older brother, said the family is "still trying to piece together what happened." What is known is that Margaret and her boyfriend had been watching the Super Bowl at a friend’s house in Maili earlier in the day, James Lavin said.
Margaret Lavin and her former husband broke up about two years ago. While their five children, ages 4 to 12, lived with their father’s parents in Nanakuli, she remained a loving and devoted mother to them, James Lavin said.
He said his sister was "a very independent person" who only recently attained her commercial driver’s license and began working as a truck driver for Guava Express, James Lavin said.
"She wanted to do that from the time she was younger, and she made it come true recently," he said.
Margaret Lavin, who was living in Mililani, also was passionate about boxing. She began taking boxing lessons to stay in shape, but her coaches urged her to become an amateur. She declined, however, because she was taking care of her children, her brother said.
"She was actually pretty good," he said.
Margaret was the youngest of three siblings and the only girl, James Lavin said. The family grew up in Waimanalo.
The Department of Medical Examiner said Margaret Lavin died from multiple traumatic injuries and that the crash was an accident.
Police said Lavin was driving east on Farrington Highway when her car crossed the median and sideswiped another car heading west. The two occupants of that car, a woman from Waianae and a girl, were uninjured.
Lavin’s vehicle then hit another car head-on. She was ejected and died at the scene, police said.
The seven people in the third car were taken to the hospital in serious condition — three 30-year-old women, a 49-year-old woman, a 28-year-old man, a 10-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.
Lavin’s death was Oahu’s 11th of the year, compared with eight at the same time in 2012.
On Jan. 4, 60-year-old Kent Bowman was killed when a pickup truck hit him on Farrington Highway near Kahe power plant in front of Kahe Point Beach Park.
