An 85-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man yesterday became the latest victims of O'ahu's skyrocketing pedestrian traffic accident problem. Both survived, but an elderly man struck down earlier has died as a result of his injuries, officials said.

William Shimabuku, 90, became the seventh pedestrian to die this year as a result of a traffic accident in Honolulu, according to the Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office. The deaths are prompting state officials and lawmakers to consider new ways to increase awareness of the problem, which makes Honolulu among the most dangerous places in the country to walk.

Shimabuku was walking in a crosswalk Jan. 19 on Liliha Street near the on-ramp to H-1 Freeway east-bound when he was hit by a car traveling less than 10 mph, said Bryan Cheplic, a spokesman for the city's Emergency Medical Services.

He originally was taken to The Queen's Medical Center and released about a week later. He died last Thursday at home as a result of head injuries suffered in the crosswalk, the Medical Examiner's Office said yesterday.

BOTH ON NORTH SHORE

Yesterday's accidents, which left two people hospitalized, were on Kamehameha Highway in Kahuku and on the North Shore.

Lillian Au, 85, was struck in a marked crosswalk on the highway near the Ko'olauloa Community Health and Wellness Center in Kahuku, according to her daughter Catherine Kealoha.

Au was crossing the highway to the Kahuku Federal Credit Union when she was hit by a car about 12:20 p.m., said Kealoha, who had boarded a bus to Wahiawa and then saw an ambulance and a woman, who turned out to be her mother, lying on the ground.

"I had a funny feeling that's her on the ground," Kealoha said. "Her head was bleeding. They had to stop the blood."

The bus driver described the struck woman to Kealoha as having red hair and a brown sweater, and it was then that she realized the worst had happened.

"Why couldn't that happen to me instead of her?" Kealoha said.

Au was taken by ambulance to The Queen's Medical Center where she was doing well late yesterday, Kealoha said.

Au raised her seven children in La'ie, washing her clothes by hand and cooking on a kerosene stove, and had to take on the burden of primary breadwinner as an usher at the Hawai'i Theatre for many years after her husband became ill, Kealoha said.

The crosswalk in which Au was struck is known locally as a hazard for pedestrians, several residents said.

Toby Bohnet, owner of the Surfside Express gas station, said he knows of three or four people who have been struck in that crosswalk in the past 10 to 15 years, including one person who died.

During the day, traffic from Sunset Beach speeds into town and has little time to slow before hitting the crosswalk, Bohnet said. At night, it is dark and drivers can't see the safety feature until they're 10 feet away.

"We're across the street from the community center for senior citizens and we're across the street from the elementary school," he said. "We're lucky that we haven't had any kids hit."

Bohnet said the crosswalk needs a pedestrian-activated signal.

Earlier yesterday, a 47-year-old man was hit by a vehicle on Kamehameha Highway near Leftovers surf break between Waimea and Hale'iwa.

Police said the man, who was naked, was running on the highway before the collision, which occurred about 5:30 a.m.

The man was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, Cheplic said. No further information on his condition or the accident was available last night, police said.

DEATH 2 DAYS EARLIER

Yesterday's accidents follow the death of another pedestrian on Monday. In that accident, 59-year-old Guoxuan Yang was killed while crossing a street near the Kapolei Business Park.

Police said Yang was struck at 6:12 a.m. by a car that had swerved to avoid other pedestrians who had just gotten off a city bus and were crossing Kalaeloa Boulevard. There are no crosswalks or street lights in the area where Yang was hit.

Last year at this time, there were just two pedestrian traffic deaths on O'ahu, police said. But the statewide total of 32 pedestrian traffic fatalities last year ranks Hawai'i among the worst in terms of per-capita pedestrian statistics in the nation, according to federal records.

The state Transportation Department, which late last month launched a new television and radio advertising campaign to promote pedestrian safety in school areas, said yesterday that the advertisements will continue to run through March 12.

"Anything we can do to get the word out will help," said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

The advertisements cost about $100,000 to air and produce, he said. The department also may seek more funds to air other pedestrian safety campaigns later in the year, he added.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com and Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.