Tantalus ‘shouldn’t be a racetrack’

A champion triathlete from Hawaii remained in critical condition Friday, sidelined after she was hit head-on by a driver allegedly “drift racing” on one of Oahu’s most notorious winding roads.

The father of Lectie Altman, 33, of Honolulu said more needs to be done to improve safety on Tantalus Drive after his daughter was nearly killed Thursday by a car that was reportedly racing with another vehicle and slammed into her bicycle.

“It’s ridiculous,” said John “Jack” Altman by telephone from Syracuse, N.Y. “It shouldn’t be a racetrack.”

Lectie Altman was among a group of cyclists from Boca Hawaii riding down Tantalus at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday when a Nissan sedan traveling up the winding roadway struck her.

Police said a 20-year-old man was “drifting” and racing with another vehicle up Tantalus when he lost control, veered onto the opposite side of the roadway and struck Altman near the third lookout.

She sustained leg and arm injuries and was transported to The Queen’s Medical Center. Police arrested the Nissan driver on suspicion of first-degree negligent injury.

Altman was in critical but stable condition Friday morning. She underwent surgery Friday for fractures she sustained after the sedan plowed into her, Jack Altman said.

She is due to undergo more surgeries to repair broken bones, said her father. “It’s going to be a long road.”

Altman sustained a compound fracture to her left leg, a broken femur in her right leg and a broken arm. She also sustained injuries to her right hand and wrist.

Altman’s father said he was in shock when he was notified of the crash.

“I never thought anything like this would happen,” he said. “She’s been doing it for years, nine years, and nothing like this has ever happened.”

In 2009 Altman moved to Hawaii from Syracuse because of the balmy weather so she could do year-round training.

She started swimming when she was 6 months old, and pursued the sport when she attended Bucknell University and Syracuse University.

Her father said she rides her bicycle on Tantalus three times a week and also works as a swimming and cycling coach at Boca Hawaii.

Altman is the 2016 Hawaii 70.3 Ironman Amateur champion and 2016 female champion of the Ironman Boulder in Boulder, Colo. The Ironman race consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile run. The 70.3 Ironman is half those distances.

Speeding persists

Speeding and racing on Tantalus Drive have been problems for years, according to John Steelquist, chairman of the Makiki-­Lower Punchbowl-Tantalus Neighborhood Board. “It’s still a serious problem there.”

Skid marks are prevalent on the winding roadway with S-shaped curves that have attracted thrill-seeking drivers who like sideways sliding, or “drifting.”

In 2010 the city set aside $175,000 in the capital improvements budget to install a sandpaperlike nonskid coating to sections of the road frequented by drifters.

Steelquist said the coating did help reduce drifting.

Drifting, he said, is “not a continuous problem anymore, but speeding is.”

Drivers are speeding and racing on the roadway in the middle of the night. At least once or twice a month, area residents would observe a vehicle wedged in the bushes on the roadside or being dragged up to the road by a tow truck after sliding 10 feet down the side of the road.

Steelquist said drivers have people above and below Tantalus Drive looking out for police. Most of the drivers venture to the roadway in the early morning hours, between 2 and 4 a.m. By the time a resident calls 911, the cars are already gone.

Altman’s father recommended the city install speed bumps to deter speeding and improve safety.

He said he hopes prosecutors make the “correct decision” in the case to prevent anyone else from getting injured. “I don’t want this to happen to other people,” he added.

Increased police presence is expected in the Tantalus area in the wake of the crash.

Lt. Ben Moszkowicz, acting captain of the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division, said police are seeking witnesses to help locate and identify the second vehicle that was reportedly racing with the Nissan sedan. Anyone with information is urged to call police or Honolulu Crime­Stoppers at 955-8300.

A GoFundMe account has been created on Altman’s behalf. Those interested in making a donation may visit gofundme.com/lectie-altman-fund.