LIHU‘E — A pair of Kaua‘i teens flown to Queen’s Medical Center after a one-vehicle crash on July 4 are improving, said a family spokesperson for one of the teens. Maxine Tobin, 14, a front-seat passenger in a Toyota pickup
LIHU‘E — A pair of Kaua‘i teens flown to Queen’s Medical Center after a one-vehicle crash on July 4 are improving, said a family spokesperson for one of the teens.
Maxine Tobin, 14, a front-seat passenger in a Toyota pickup truck driven by her brother Jordan Tobin, 17, remains in the critical-care unit at Queen’s, said Dale Rosenfeld of Kapa‘a, a Tobin family spokesperson.
Maxine Tobin has brain trauma, a broken wrist and broken collarbone, and is in the neuroscience ward of the hospital, Rosenfeld said.
“She’s improving. She’s being watched” due to her “critical brain condition. She’s conscious, and was beginning to eat today,” Rosenfeld said during a telephone interview Friday morning.
“She’s in pain.”
Keoni Brown Alonso, 13, was a back-seat passenger in the truck, and suffered two broken legs, broken shoulder and broken collarbone, and had his breathing tube removed Friday. He remains in intensive care at Queen’s, Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld flew to Honolulu to comfort and assist the Tobin family, she said.
Rosenfeld said speed, drinking and drugs were not factors in the crash, and that Jordan Tobin simply lost control of the truck on a curve on Hulemalu Road near its intersection with Puhi Road. A county press release indicated Kaua‘i Police Department officers said speed may have been a factor. The teens were not out after curfew, Rosenfeld said.
The two teens were ejected from the cab when the truck crashed and ended up on its side, according to a county press release. Four other teens in the bed of the truck were ejected at impact as well, but none suffered serious injuries.
The driver and a 14-year-old male who was a rear-seat passenger were not ejected. The three injured teens were transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital for treatment. All the other teenagers received non-life-threatening injuries and declined medical treatment, according to the county release.
A Web site has been established to allow friends, relatives and others to check on the status of Maxine Tobin, said Rosenfeld. The Web site is www.caringbridge.org, and those visiting the site should enter “maxinetobin” in the space that says “Enter Website Name.”
Rosenfeld has been updating the Web site, and posted this on Friday:
“Today Maxine has shown further improvements. She had the strength to shower, brush her teeth and even travel out of the hospital in a wheelchair. “She was evaluated by a neuropsychologist who found her cognitive abilitites to be fully intact. An occupational therapist also found her physical condition to be quickly improving.”
