Dr. William Travis Lau, who died in Monday’s pedestrian crash in Kakaako, was a “dedicated, talented cardiac anesthesiologist,” his colleagues at Pacific Anesthesia said today.

Lau was one of three people killed in the crash involving a pickup truck driven by Alins Sumang, who was charged with three counts of manslaughter in their deaths.

Lau cared for the “very sickest patients,” Pacific Anesthesia said.

He was “an early, passionate proponent of reducing blood transfusions during cardiac surgery, and instituted a patient blood management program that to this day continues to greatly reduce the amount of blood transfused during cardiac surgery,” the group said in a written statement. Pacific Anesthesia said Lau was the chairman of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists’ Blood Conservation Working Group, and “worked to ensure that national standards and guidelines reflected the very best, most modern practices.”

“We are heartbroken over this senseless tragedy, which has taken an excellent specialist physician away from the community,” Pacific Anesthesia said, expressing condolences to his wife, Melissa, his parents and family.