Kaaawa crash victim was top Hawaii skateboarder
Friends and family of Bernardo Bernard created a memorial at the site where Bernard was killed Sunday morning on Kamehameha Hwy. in Kaaawa near Keo Place on Monday, May 19, 2014. Bernard's mother said a memorial was painted after 6p.m. when they left Sunday night.
2014 May 19 CTY - Bernardo (FIRST NAME BERNARDO CONFIRMED) Bernard, 26, skateboarder killed in Kaaawa Sunday, May 18 by alleged drunk driver.
(L-R) Michael Granillo came to visit the site where his friend Bernardo Bernard was killed on Sunday night and gave his condolences to family including, Bruce Carter, step-father and Imelda Camero Carter on Kamehameha Hwy. in Kaaawa near Keo Place on Monday, May 19, 2014. Bernard's mother said a memorial was painted after 6p.m. when they left Sunday night.
A 26-year-old Honolulu man killed early Sunday morning by an alleged drunken driver in Kaaawa was a top sponsored skateboarder who made a name for himself in Hawaii and on the San Francisco skate scene, friends said.
Bernardo “Gnardo” Bernard “was by far one of the most talented skateboarders and artists in Hawaii,” said Josh Rubalcava, a manager at 808 Skate. “He was an incredible person on and off the skateboard.”
Close friend Sean Reilly said Bernard was camping with friends for a graduation party at Swanzy Beach Park and was following a friend on skateboard “to get him home safe,” then planned to turn around and return to the campsite but never made it.
“They were so close to where they were going,” just 10 feet from the block where the friend lives, Reilly said. Bernardo “flew like 70 feet.”
Bernard was Kahuku-bound on Highway near the Crouching Lion Inn and Keo Place when he veered onto the roadway into the path of a Kahuku-bound vehicle when he was struck at about 12:43 a.m. by a vehicle heading in the same direction.
