The families of four women spent yesterday grieving and trying to cope with the loss of mothers, aunts and sisters following one of the worst traffic accidents on O'ahu in years.

The women began their day Monday as any other, getting on a farm truck and leaving to pick tomatoes by hand. But their pickup truck swerved to avoid an oncoming car and slammed head-on into a concrete mixing truck.

"I still don't believe it. How could this happen?" asked Rex Polendey, the 27-year-old son of Aquilina Polendey, 57, of Waipahu.

Also killed were Lorna Laroco, 53, of 'Ewa Beach; Gertrudis Montano, 59, of 'Ewa Beach; and Ana Sacalamitao, 46, of Waipahu. All four were thrown from the truck.

Eight other people in the pickup were injured and treated at The Queen's Medical Center. The driver of the concrete truck was unharmed.

The oncoming car, a silver sedan, was not hit and the driver drove off. Police are still seeking that driver.

The women were among the many Filipinos who have come to Hawai'i to work on farms.

Belinda Aquino, who heads the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, said the majority of the Filipinos who settled in the Waipahu and 'Ewa Beach communities are from Ilocos Norte, a largely agricultural section of the Philippines.

Most of those who have continued to take jobs on farms here are working long hours and for little pay, just as they did in the Philippines, Aquino said.

Polendey, a mother of five, sometimes worked seven days a week at Larry Jefts Farms, her son said. She worked there since 1999.

Polendey's family said they were still in shock yesterday.

Her husband, Ricardo, said the hardest thing he's ever done was to identify the body of his beloved wife at the Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office.

"I saw the face of my wife and I said, 'Yes, she is one of the dead,'" said the 62-year-old at his Waipahu apartment yesterday. He said he still can't believe what happened.

"Last night, I could not sleep and I cannot eat. I don't know, I don't know," Polendey said, shaking his head.

Aquilina Polendey was a hardworking mother who loved her children and loved to laugh, her son said.

"She was always smiling," said Rex Polendey. He said he is sad that his mother would not get to live one of her dreams: to move to a home she and her husband built years ago in Manila, where her four daughters live.

"She did a lot of sacrifice" for her children, said Rex Polendey. "I had dreams. They cannot happen now."

In 'Ewa Beach, the husband of Gertrudis Montano was comforted yesterday by his son and daughter-in-law.

Gertrudis Montano held her family together, said Zacarias Montano, her husband of 40 years, and he isn't sure what to do now.

"My wife is a good wife. I almost died when I heard," he said. "I don't know what I am going to do now; I really care for my wife. She is the one taking care of me. I am in pain."

The Montanos immigrated to Hawai'i in 2000 from Laoag City, Philippines. They lived with their son, Oliver, and were working toward bringing their three other children to the United States.

Gertrudis Montano began working at the farm five years ago after Zacarias Montano, 65, learned that his asthma would prevent him from working.

Zacarias Montano said his son couldn't recognize his mother's body at the morgue. The family was able to identify her by her wedding ring.

Juggling her job on the farm with caring for her husband, Gertrudis Montano never got angry and was not afraid of hard work, he said.

Another Waipahu family grieved for the loss of a sister. They spent yesterday arranging for the body of Ana Sacalamitao to be returned to Quirimo province in the Philippines.

"She worked (at Larry Jefts Farms) for almost seven years," said Isidro Agbayani, Sacalamitao's brother-in-law. "She was just promoted to supervisor. She was happy."

Sacalamitao lived in the Waipahu home of her sister and brother-in-law and was a religious woman, said Agbayani. Sacalamitao also has a twin sister, said Agbayani.

Agbayani said the family went into shock Monday morning after a family friend who also works on the farm, called to say Sacalamitao was in an accident. Agbayani immediately went to The Queen's Medical Center but was told Sacalamitao was never admitted. He later confirmed with the medical examiner that she had died in the crash.

"My wife is very sad," said Agbayani. "This terrible, terrible."

Lorna Laroco, a 53-year-old 'Ewa Beach woman, was also killed in Monday's crash, but attempts to reach family members yesterday were unsuccessful.

Officials from Larry Jefts Farms would not speak with the media.

Police said yesterday no arrests had been made as they continued to search for the driver of the sedan, who didn't stop and was last seen entering Schofield Barracks.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.