Of the 10 vehicles that a large, apparently out-of-control tow truck, with another truck in tow, plowed into on Wednesday, a blue 2015 Ford Fiesta fared the worst — the balled-up wreckage of twisted metal unrecognizable as a subcompact.
The 31-year-old driver, a husband and solar consultant for Sunrun, also fared the worst, surviving with critical injuries to the brain and spine, his family and friends say.
Jim Braddock remained hospitalized Thursday in critical condition at the intensive care unit of The Queen’s Medical Center. Sunrun said in an email that he is in critical but stable condition.
The 52-year-old female driver of the Pinky Tows tow truck, operating a 2002 Kenworth tow truck and hauling a refrigerator truck, told police the truck’s brakes started to fail while heading Kahuku-bound on the Kahekili Highway on-ramp from Likelike Highway. That’s when it struck 10 vehicles on both Kahuku- bound lanes of the Kahekili on-ramp, police said. The company issued an apology late Thursday.
Lt. James Slayter said some witnesses said they thought she was on a cellphone.
The 70-year-old female driver of a 2017 Honda Fit and an 86-year-old female passenger of a 2007 Hyundai were both taken to Kuakini Hospital in serious condition and improved to good condition. A 58-year-old woman driving a 2017 Jaguar was hospitalized at Queen’s in serious condition.
The tow truck received minor damage to the passenger side and front end. The truck it was towing did not appear to have any damage, police said.
The drivers and passengers of other vehicles were uninjured.
Friends and family of Braddock, who hails from New Jersey, set up a GoFundMe page to help raise $75,000 “to help with medical expenses and to support Jim and his wife in the long road to recovery that he will likely have.” By 4:30 p.m. today, the page raised $34,225 of its targeted $75,000 goal.
“He’s loud, fun, gregarious, and has a larger than life personality,” the page says. “If anyone has the luck and the fight of the Irish in him enough to overcome this, it’s Jim.”
“Jim is the life of any and every party he’s ever been to,” family and friends also said in a written statement. “He shows his love for family and friends with passion. Although he wasn’t born in Hawaii, Jim embodies the aloha spirit in every way imaginable.”
They ask, “Please keep Jim in your thoughts and prayers. He has a long road ahead of him and can use all the positive support the community can muster. We want to thank everyone for their well wishes.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Sunrun said.
