A 88-year-old man killed while crossing Kapahulu Avenue, just steps from his Herbert Street home, had recovered from recent heart surgery and was healthy, friends and relatives said.

The victim’s neighbor, Billy Shiihara, identified the man as his uncle, Hiroaki Shihara (a variation of Shiihara).

Shiihara, 56, said he was also struck in 2003 by a car in the same crosswalk.

"He just came back from heart surgery — triple bypass — he was feeling good, walking around with his weights," said Amy Katahira, the nephew’s girlfriend.

Shihara was heading ewa in a marked crosswalk of the four-lane Kapahulu near Herbert Street when he was struck at 12:30 p.m. by a white 1995 Ford pickup truck, heading mauka on Kapahulu.

The 52-year-old truck driver from Kahuku stopped just past the crosswalk, an indication he was probably going the 25 mph speed limit, said police Lt. Robert Towne of the Vehicular Homicide Section.

The driver was taken to the police station for a mandatory blood draw (in potential felony cases), but did not appear intoxicated, Towne said.

The pedestrian had been thrown about 20 to 25 feet from the crosswalk, and he was probably heading toward the bus stop, he said.

Authorities said the 88-year-old was taken in extremely critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center with multiple injuries and was pronounced dead a short time later.

The accident may have been due to inattention on the driver’s part, since Shihara made it across the first lane and was struck in the second lane (toward the center of the roadway), Towne noted.

Police closed portions of Kapahulu Avenue and Herbert Street while they conducted an investigation for about 21⁄2 hours.

This was the 20th fatality of this year compared to 18 the same time last year.

Shihara had worked as a butcher in the family’s Shiihara Store, at the corner of Kapahulu and Herbert. Shihara’s father opened it in 1948, and it closed in the mid-80s, his nephew said. Shihara lived with his adopted son and his family, not far from the street corner.

"Usually he walks his dog early in the morning" because there are fewer cars at that time of day, Shiihara said.

Residents and people who work in the area said Kapahulu Avenue is dangerous for pedestrians, especially because heavy traffic is the norm in a mixed-use area of houses and apartments, as well as shops and restaurants frequented by locals and visitors.

Karen Au, 67, a friend and neighbor of Shihara, was distraught at the scene, thinking the victim might be her dear friend "Hiro," who chatted with her almost daily on his front porch.

"I told him not to cross the street because it’s dangerous," Au said. "I hope it’s not him. He always catches the bus. A lot of people get hit over here."

"They have to put a traffic light here," she said.

Au said Shihara would regularly catch the bus and go to Ala Moana Center and Chinatown.

Katahira said, "I won’t cross this road. That’s not the first one." She said there were three different accidents since she moved into the area.

"Super hard to cross," said Sue Benetti, co-owner of Diamond Head Surfboards, where the Shiihara Store once stood. "We got to wait, wait. We got to make hand gestures to get them to stop."

Towne said statistics do not show a need for a traffic light, and drivers are generally traveling the speed limit.

When she learned of Shihara’s death, Au cried and told Shiihara and Katahira, "I going miss him."

"He was a nice man," who would often bring her small gifts, she said.

Shiihara said it wasn’t until recently that he spent time talking with his uncle.

"I used to tell him, ‘You my only uncle now.’ It’s such a shock."