In a somber gathering yesterday, the first survivor of a fatal Kapa'a Quarry Road crash to be released from the hospital met with the grieving parents of 18-year-old Whitney Fergerstrom to recount their only child's final hours.

"We spoke to who we felt would have liked to have known," said Cindy Rocca, the mother of survivor Mia Archuleta, 19, who was released from Castle Medical Center on Friday. The families did not want to discuss details of the meeting between Archuleta, Rocca and Melanie Fergerstrom.

"We extended our condolences to them," Rocca said.

Archuleta, Shasteen Kahaunaele, 18, and a 15-year-old girl survived Thursday night's crash, which killed Fergerstrom and 18-year-old Leshay Gusman. All five are from the Neighbor Islands and met each other on O'ahu as boarding students at the Kamehameha Schools' Kapalama campus.

Rocca said Archuleta is struggling to deal with the accident, and the loss of her friends.

"She's doing fine physically," Rocca said. "Emotionally, she's having a difficult time."

Archuleta said she was not ready to talk to the media. But the answering message on her cell phone let friends know she was fine.

"I'm OK," she said on the message. "I'm just a little hurt."

In the wake of Thursday's crash, Kailua police were ticketing speeders along Kapa'a Quarry Road yesterday. Police did not release figures on how many speeders were snagged, but the crackdown comes as residents are also calling for safety improvements on the narrow, tree-lined roadway.

Police said the friends were riding in a sport utility vehicle on Kapa'a Quarry Road about 10:30 p.m. Thursday when it crashed into a pickup truck. The occupants of the truck, a 28-year-old man and a 35-year-old man, were last listed in serious condition at The Queen's Medical Center.

Kahaunaele, 18, was last listed in critical condition at Queen's. The 15-year-old girl was in serious condition.

Charae Galigo, 20, boarded with Kahaunaele at Kamehameha Schools. The two now attend the University of Hawai'i-Hilo.

Galigo said yesterday from Hilo that Kahaunaele is improving, and has been able to speak to a few friends. She said Kahaunaele went to O'ahu on Thursday to spend a weekend with friends, something she does a couple times a month.

When Galigo heard about the accident, "I was shocked," she said.

"You never expect people you know to be involved in something like this."

Galigo said she also attended Kamehameha with Fergerstrom and Gusman, but didn't know them well. She heard about the accident while trolling on MySpace.com, where friends had posted messages for the victims.

At the crash site yesterday, friends and family members tied butterfly balloons, a lei and a bouquet of flowers to a nearby sign.

Fergerstrom's aunt, Valerie, said the family is devastated at their loss.

"She was a wonderful girl. She was a good girl," said Fergerstrom, who last saw Whitney in September. "We're all pulling together."

Services for Fergerstrom are being handled by Nu'uanu Memorial Park & Mortuary, but the family asked they be kept private.

Services for Gusman have not been set.

In addition to Fergerstrom and Gusman, at least three other motorists have been killed on Kapa'a Quarry Road in the past 12 years.

In 1998, a 17-year-old girl was killed when the Nissan Sentra she was in lost control, hit a tree and rolled over. Three other girls in the car were injured.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.