Pedestrian is year’s first traffic fatality

Penelope “Penny” Handenburgh, 49, a Wailua resident and formerly a long-time resident of Princeville, was struck and killed while crossing Kuhio Highway near Kintaro Japanese Restaurant yesterday morning.

At 6:58 a.m., emergency personnel responded to the scene, and transported Handenburgh to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, said Cyndi Mei Ozaki, county public information officer.

The driver of the older-model Chevy Blazer involved in the accident was also transported to Wilcox Hospital to be checked out.

The driver, who was not identified, was not cited for any traffic violations at the scene, although an investigation is ongoing, Ozaki said.

She added there was no reason to suspect drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash.

The driver, who was heading southbound in the outer lane, was heading home, said officer Joseph Kaauwai of the Kaua’i Police Department traffic section.

Handenburgh was crossing from the makai to the mauka side of the highway, not in a crosswalk, said Ozaki. According to witnesses, the driver was going between 20 and 30 mph in the 25-mph zone.

Handenburgh had lived on Kaua’i for over 40 years. She was born in South Africa, and moved to the island as a 5-year-old, when a traffic accident spared her life but took her mother’s, said Barbara Tofte, a family friend.

Her father brought her to the island for a better climate, Tofte said, and the family stayed. She attended Hanalei School, and graduated from Kapa’a High School.

Handenburgh “was a smart girl, an avid reader,” said Tofte. “She was such a happy person.”

She lived just behind Kintaro, said Tofte.

A memorial service is being planned.

The accident is Kaua’i’s first traffic fatality of 2004.

Staff Writer Tom Finnegan may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mailto:tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.