Ninety-year-old Lino Tolentino woke up early with the stock market, paper trading in the mornings and taking daily walks in the afternoons with his granddaughter.
It was on one of those walks with his 10-year-old granddaughter near her home in Wahiawa that he was struck in a marked crosswalk by a vehicle
Nov. 4 and died Thursday.
The 90-year-old retired diesel technician worked 40 years for Del Monte until the plantation’s closure, and lived on his own in Kunia Camp.
Tolentino and a woman, estimated to be in her 80s, who was fatally struck Monday by a pickup truck in
Liliha, became the latest of 11 pedestrians killed by vehicles on Oahu this year, compared with 11 in 2022. Of the 11, six were not in a marked crosswalk.
The woman was walking west on School Street when she crossed Alaneo Street at 7:10 a.m. in a marked crosswalk near Saint Theresa Catholic School. She was struck by a pickup truck driven by a 51-year-old man, who remained at the scene.
The driver, traveling east on North School Street, made a left turn on Alaneo Street when he hit her, causing her to be thrown onto the roadway.
Emergency Medical Services personnel treated the woman, who had a head injury. She was taken in critical condition to an area hospital, where she died. Her identity was not released Monday.
The woman’s death was the 50th traffic fatality on Oahu this year, compared with 46 the same time in 2022.
“Anywhere on this island, accidents can occur,” said Maj. Stason Tanaka at a news conference Monday afternoon. “Therefore, I’m urging everyone to be vigilant, especially during the holiday season when we tend to have more traffic on the roadways — (when) everybody’s mind is elsewhere focusing on Christmas gifts and attending festivities and whatnot — just urging everyone to be diligent and alert when they’re driving.”
He also urged drivers to keep their attention focused on the road, to put cellphones away and to “drive with aloha.”
Tolentino was struck at 4:45 p.m. Nov. 4 by a vehicle driven by a 72-year-old woman heading west on Kilani Avenue at the intersection with Koa Street.
Police said he was initially taken in “good” condition to the hospital but later “succumbed to his injuries” Thursday.
Dave Tolentino said his
father would come over every day at around 4:30 p.m. and would walk with his daughter, who is still in shock.
“If you knew my dad, my dad wanted to live past 100 years old,” he said. “My dad was still there, still driving, living on his own. He was really still strong.”
Lino Tolentino, who was born in Ilocos Norte, Philippines, came to Hawaii in 1981 to work for Del Monte, repairing their diesel vehicles.
The company provided visas, and Tolentino was able to bring his whole family to Hawaii: wife Enriqueta and sons Dennis, Dale, Donald and Dave.
Tolentino continued to live in Kunia Camp after his wife died about five years ago.
Dave Tolentino said he had asked his father to live with him at his house, but “he wanted his own independence. He had a lot to keep himself busy, keeping his brain occupied.”
Lino Tolentino was self-sustaining, tending a garden behind his house, his son said. He grew vegetables and fruit, including green onions, tomatoes and sayote (chayote), and cooked his own meals.
The elder Tolentino would also plant vegetables at his son’s home, and he would go over almost daily to care for the plants.
