Harvey Hashimoto Jr., a 19-year-old Waianae man praised for his kindness, was killed Sunday in a crash along a deadly stretch of road just minutes from his home.
Police said Hashimoto was speeding just after midnight on Waianae Valley Road when he lost control in the makai-bound lane and veered into the opposite lane of traffic. He struck an oncoming vehicle about 180 feet north of Plantation Road, severed a utility pole and overturned.
Hashimoto was ejected and died at the scene, police said.
Two 18-year-old Waianae men, who were riding with Hashimoto in an SUV, were uninjured, and two women in their 20s in the other vehicle were taken to the hospital in serious condition, police said.
“He made a bad choice,” said his aunt, Crystal Dejesus. “But he was so loving, so caring. He had a heart for anybody in need. He was such an angel.”
She said her nephew was heading to Taco Bell to pick up a friend and bring him back to his house when he crashed.
Friends set up a memorial at the site of the crash, which happened minutes after Hashimoto’s 19th birthday had ended.
Among the flowers, lei, stuffed animals and a sign with Hashimoto’s name was a Norman Cousins quote that Hashimoto had posted on his Instagram page: “The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside us while we live.”
Dejesus saw Hashimoto on Saturday when he visited her and gave her a big hug and kiss.
“That kid can smile from ear to ear,” she said. “Once you see that kid, he makes you smile.”
Hashimoto was the second eldest of nine children and helped his parents care for his siblings, the youngest of whom is still a youngster of about 4. Family members said the parents were distraught.
Dejesus said Hashimoto just started a new job about a week ago in the produce section at Tamura Super Market.
“He was so happy,” she said.
Hashimoto was small in stature, barely reaching 5 feet 4 inches, but was muscular from weightlifting and called his home gym “Harvey’s dungeon.” He always put others before himself, said his friend Kapukawai Raposas, who put together the roadside memorial.
He said Hashimoto would post uplifting quotes on social media and wouldn’t want his friends to wallow in sadness because of the crash.
“He was just like a loving guy,” said Kapukawai, 17, a senior at Waianae High School, where Hashimoto graduated in 2014. Other friends said Hashimoto was family oriented and didn’t like to cause trouble.
Patricia Sanchez-Harrell, a former neighbor of Kapukawai’s, said her daughter woke her up about 7 a.m., crying and screaming about Hashimoto, and later locked herself in her room to grieve. Sanchez-Harrell remembered Hashimoto as handsome, respectful and humble, adding, “he was a really good boy.”
Hashimoto’s parents hugged at the memorial Sunday, and his mother wiped away tears from the face of one of the teens who had been riding in the SUV with Hashimoto.
Waianae Valley Road residents said the same stretch of road has been the site of numerous crashes and at least one other fatality several years ago.
Margaret Jones, of Waianae Valley Road, said about a year ago another vehicle crashed and landed on the inside of a 2-foot-high stone wall surrounding her property. Paramedics were treating two women from the crash and didn’t even know a third woman had been ejected until Jones’ husband heard the woman moaning in the bushes.
She called 911 after hearing Sunday’s collision, the crash into the utility pole and the SUV skidding top-down on the pavement.
“This happens way too often,” she said, adding that officials should install speed bumps or rumble strips to calm traffic. She recalled stepping outside and seeing Hashimoto pinned partially out of the SUV window. “This one was really sad to see. People were hysterical.”
