Family seeks answers after woman drives off cliff

Friends, family members and area residents arrived at Laie Point on Monday afternoon as news spread of the death of a 49-year-old woman whose car went over the cliff into the ocean below.

"That’s my kids’ favorite auntie," said relative Perth Aloua, who identified the woman as Lisa Oura. Although Oura didn’t have any children of her own, "she raised everybody’s kids."

"She’s a happy person," said Aloua, who is married to Oura’s niece. "She’s a sweet lady."

Three people at the scene unsuccessfully tried to rescue the woman from the submerged four-door sedan found upside down in 20 feet of water, 50 feet away from the cliff on the Kane­ohe side of the point, said fire Capt. Terry Seelig. She was the sole occupant of the car, he said.

Fire personnel arrived shortly after the 1:30 p.m. incident. Rescue divers, free diving, opened the car without the use of tools and pulled the woman out, placed her on a rescue board and paddled to shore. They and Emergency Medical Services performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation to try to revive her.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

One woman said Oura was her maid of honor, but declined to comment until she spoke with family.

A 1982 Kahuku High School classmate and friend solemnly paid his respects, looking down at the shadowy outline of the car in the watery depths of the ocean. He said she had just visited him at his house Friday.

"I don’t know why she did this," he said. "She is so full of giving, visited her mother in the hospital every day."

Vanessa Piei, 55, who was working at the nearby shopping center, said, "She was such a nice girl, sweet girl."

Family and friends gathered on shore and could be seen praying together.

At the point, tire marks near the edge of the cliff were clearly visible. The cause of the incident was not determined.

The last time a car and its driver, also a woman, went over the cliff at the same spot was July 13, 2009. Police at the scene said the 2009 case was believed to be a suicide.

Laie resident Morgan Halas, 25, who was prepared to go spearfishing in the area, said Monday an axle and other car parts were at the bottom of the ocean where another car had gone off.

Two 22-year-old Laie men who frequently dive at Laie Point recalled concrete barriers were placed along the area to prevent such a thing from happening after a previous incident.

Christian Feagai said, "We used to drive up our cars and barbecue before."

John Nielson presumed they left a section open to allow fishermen to drive out on the point.

Resident Mary Lou Whipple said, "This is the second time it’s happened. It’s so sad."

She said people who arrived at her house just after the incident said they saw a woman in a car at the point, talking on a cellphone and "pouring down tears."

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources plans to see to the removal of vehicle.