Victim's family stunned by hit-run
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Ashley Laurito left her Waimanalo Village home late Saturday night to look for her cousin and had just turned right onto Kalaniana'ole Highway headed toward Bellows when she heard a sickening sound.
"All I heard was boom," the 22-year-old Laurito said yesterday. "I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw his body in the air above the car, flying toward the sidewalk."
From the grey tank top and shorts, Laurito knew it was her 18-year-old cousin, Gabriel Taito, who had been hit by the white car that passed her moments earlier.
Taito was found unconscious, lying on top of a piece of headlight from the car that hit him.
"He looked like he was sleeping; the only thing is we knew he was breathing," Laurito said.
Taito suffered critical head and body injuries. The driver fled without stopping.
That's what Taito's relatives cannot accept.
"No aid was given," said Mina Laurito, Ashley's mother. "When you hit someone like that, the person is already hurt, but to just leave them there is hitting below the belt."
Taito lives with the Lauritos on Laukalo Street. He is hospitalized at The Queen's Medical Center. Mina Laurito said her nephew's condition had improved by early afternoon yesterday.
Mina Laurito said her family attended Sunday services and prayed at Lanakila Church of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Kaimuki before visiting Taito at Queen's.
"He was talking with his mother (Margaret Kuresa of 'Aiea), joking with my children," Mina Laurito said. "They did a CAT scan and are waiting for the results. He's still strapped into a brace."
It was touch-and-go overnight as family members rushed to the hospital.
"He had tubes to help him breathe, and we were really worried because he was unconscious," aunt Fualila Taito said.
Family members said Taito had decided to take a walk following a family barbeque. The car hit him sometime between 11:40 p.m. and midnight while he was crossing Kalaniana'ole Highway, 53 feet west of Mo'ole Street where Fualia Taito's family lives.
"The person who did this will be caught," said Waimanalo Neighborhood Board member Blanche McMillan. "People who saw this know Waimanalo and if this person is from here, I would hope they come forward. This kind of problem has to stop."
Police traffic investigators are looking for a white Toyota car with front right-side damage, said Sgt. John Agno. Based on evidence recovered at the scene, police believe the car is a Toyota but witnesses said it could have been a white Volkswagen Jetta.
Anyone with information is asked to call Agno or officer Chris Yamaguchi at 529-3499 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Gabriel Taito is the 18-year-old victim of a hit-and-run Saturday night in Waimanalo. His last name and the last name of his aunt, Fualila, were misspelled in a previous version of this story.
