HONOLULU — Honolulu leaders have honored a city driver who helped two passengers escape a transit van that ignited and burned on the side of a Kalihi road.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Georgette Mahealani Chun was cited for heroism in the incident. City leaders declared Monday Georgette Mahealani Chun Day in her honor.
Chun on May 25 was driving Ofelio Marcello Lopez and his wife, Mayra, who uses a wheelchair, in a Handi-Van to Sandy Beach when she smelled something and pulled over.
Chun saw smoke coming from vents below the windshield. Within minutes the van was on fire.
Chun unstrapped Mayra Lopez’s wheelchair and moved the couple to safety before the fire reached the van’s cab.
It’s the third time in three years that a Handi-Van has caught fire.