Victim of crash was a man with lots of friends

Tom Davis was the sort of fellow people gravitated toward, a kind, pleasant man with an engaging personality and always ready to help others.

The 44-year-old Boston native, who once was homeless, used a wheelchair and read lips after losing his hearing in his 20s, had amassed a large number of friends from all walks of life who loved to sit and chat with him at a Kapolei Starbucks.

"When I saw him at the Starbucks, he looked kind of dirty and rough around the edges, but as you listened to him interact with other people, he was actually a very nice person," said Pat Bentley, a 62-year-old former piano teacher, who met him while he was living on the street before moving into the Kumuhonua Transitional Housing in Kalaeloa, where she also lives.

"Everybody just adored him," she said. "I was so pleased when he was able to move to Kumuhonua Transitional Housing. He totally cleaned up. He was just a very kind and open person, who always was interested in what other people were doing, what they had to share."

It came as quite a shock to his many friends when Davis, in his wheelchair, was struck by a marked police car the night of Sept. 5 in an area of Kalaeloa without sidewalks and streetlights.

The Medical Examiner’s Office said he died of multiple blunt force injuries. Police opened a third-degree negligent homicide case, a misdemeanor, against the 34-year-old officer.

"He had just come from Starbucks," said Paul Chapman, a Bible study leader who held informal group Bible studies with Davis and others at Starbucks. "He bought two mugs and a few pounds of coffee," with which he planned to entertain friends at his apartment.

He was always in good spirits, "loved life; he loved the people in his life."

"He had a lot of very good friends," he said. "These are professionals, middle-class, upper-middle-class people."

"The would bring their dogs down and he would pet them up," Chapman said.

About 45 friends, including pet dogs, attended a vigil Friday held on short notice at the accident site, and tied a big blue ribbon there. Many more would have come, but organizers kept it private, he said.

"To those who Tom knew, he was an incredible friend," he said. "He will be forever missed."

Davis’ brother, Sean, said Tom Davis grew up in Boston, and the family later relocated to Lunenburg, Mass.

He loved to go for long walks, something he did with his dad and brother.

"Growing up, Tommy always wanted to become a Boston firefighter," he said. "He would routinely visit firehouses and made some friends with firefighters."

He was made an honorary firefighter and given a letter and a helmet by the Boston Fire Department, his brother said.

Davis had worked as a warehouseman, and later as a hospital janitor, before moving in 2008 to Hawaii with his wife and her teenage son to be near her mother.

His wife left him shortly afterward.

He developed back problems after moving to Hawaii, and got a wheelchair, Sean Davis said.

Chapman said Davis was just down on his luck.

He was very kind, a gentleman, and had been "houseless" for about two years, Chapman said.

Neighbor Roy Henry, 65, said that in a way he regrets helping Davis move into the housing about a month and a half ago.

He said Davis missed the shuttle, which takes people to the housing. The shuttle service ends at 7:30 p.m., and Davis probably got dropped off on Enterprise Avenue at the bus stop near where he was struck, and would have had to travel a mile or so to the housing.

He is also survived by his father, Tom; his mother Mary; and sister Danielle Woods.