WAIPAHU — Following a year when O'ahu recorded the fewest number of traffic fatalities in nearly a decade, three people died in separate traffic accidents on New Year's Day while a fourth person was critically injured yesterday.

In contrast, there was only one O'ahu traffic death during the first two days of 2008, which saw 46 traffic-related deaths for the year, said Maj. Frank Fujii, police spokesman. It was the fewest number of traffic fatalities since 1999, when there were 44. There were 67 in 2007.

"We're off to a very bad start," Fujii said. "People, please drive carefully. Speed was definitely a factor in all of these collisions."

Alcohol may also have been a factor in each of them, he said.

Two of the victims were motorcyclists who died in separate crashes within three hours and two miles of each other Thursday night.

Michael Galutira, 29, was killed when his motorcycle crashed on a curve at Kupuna Loop in the Village Park section of Waipahu about 8:13 p.m. Thursday.

The motorcycle, believed to have been headed Wai'anae-bound, apparently crossed the center line and hit a parked truck. Police said he was not wearing a helmet.

Yesterday afternoon, Galutira's cousins erected a makeshift memorial on the sidewalk next to the truck where he died.

"He was pretty soft-spoken," said B.J. Mata, 27. "He never made trouble for nobody."

Galutira was into cars and "had a couple of bikes," Mata said. Recently, he won first place in a car show, Mata said.

Christine Mata, 26, B.J. Mata's sister, said their cousin was always smiling.

"I'm going to miss that about him — people called him 'Dimples,' " she said. "His life was too short."

The cousins pointed out that Galutira's son recently turned 2 and that being a father changed the priorities for the civilian Pearl Harbor Shipyard worker.

"It's going to be hard to look at his son because his face is all over him," said Sherry Lewis, 21. "He looks just like his father."

Christine Mata said the cousins are close because many are about the same age and grew up under the same roof in 'Ewa Villages.

John Ulep, whose family lives in the Kupuna Loop house behind where Galutira was killed, said a number of accidents have occurred in the area over the years. Once, a cousin was hit while trying to cross the road, he said.

A SECOND CRASH

About two miles away, near the Waipahu-Paiwa street intersection, a crash claimed the life of Wayne Medeiros Jr., 36, of Hono-lulu, just before 11 p.m. Thursday.

Medeiros apparently failed to negotiate a bend and veered to the right off the road. He crashed into a large rock and a guardrail, ejecting him from his motorcycle. Police said he was wearing a helmet.

He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Shortly before the crash, a patrol officer had stopped Medeiros on Kamehameha Highway south-bound. But as the officer walked up to Medeiros, police said, the motorcyclist rode away.

The officer did not chase Medeiros but did proceed along Waipahu Street in search of him when he came upon the crash scene, police said.

The victim was driving a black 2003 Honda sports bike, traffic police said.

The crash occurred in front of Waipahu Hall, an apartment complex for seniors. Eva Christman, a resident there, said she's seen and heard of a number of other crashes at the site.

A flashing light warns Pearl City-bound motorists to slow down because of the curve, but there's no such signal 'ewa-bound where Medeiros was headed.

"People just go by so fast," Christman said.

The sign in front of the apartment complex used to say "Waipahu Elderly Home." But then someone crashed into it and the new sign says "Waipahu Hall," Christman said.

MORE INCIDENTS

A man was in critical condition last night after being struck yesterday at Farrington Highway and Mokuola Street near the Waipahu Jack in the Box, police said.

Police reported earlier that the man had died, but rescinded that statement at around 4:45 p.m.

The pedestrian was crossing in a crosswalk against a red light when he was hit, a police investigation showed, Fujii said.

The driver involved in the accident is a 48-year-old Waipahu resident who stopped after the collision, police said. Alcohol and speed were not factors, police said.

Earlier, a 45-year-old Kailua motorcyclist who suffered serious head injuries following a crash in Kaimuki early Thursday morning was sent to the hospital in critical condition.

And the first traffic fatality of 2009 occurred about 4 a.m. Thursday in a single-car accident at the intersection of Likelike Highway and Kamehameha IV Road in Kalihi.

The medical examiner's office yesterday identified the victim as Patricia Kekoolani-Tully, 47, of Honolulu.

She was a passenger in the vehicle.

While not part of this year's statistics, a 47-year-old motorcyclist died Monday after a hit-and-run collision with a truck in Waipahu. Police said the man, identified as Lindsay Kane, was not wearing a helmet.