A 49-year-old woman who died from injuries after she was struck by a pickup truck while jogging in Mililani has been identified as Shari Naomi Afuso.
By all accounts a devoted wife and mother, Afuso worked as a courtroom manager for Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang at U.S. District Court, according to family members.
Afuso and her husband, Mark, just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary a few days before the accident, family members said.
At 7:09 p.m. Thursday, Afuso was jogging in a crosswalk when she was struck by a 2012 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by a 72-year-old man. The driver was turning left onto Kuahelani Avenue from the southbound lanes of Meheula Parkway.
Afuso was taken in critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center, where she died the following day. The cause of death was cranial cerebral injuries due to blunt force trauma, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The manner of death was classified as an accident.
Afuso’s death is the fifth pedestrian fatality on Oahu in 2015, compared with two at the same time last year.
Her brother, Miles K. Moriyama, said the accident occurred a couple of blocks from her home. Family members said she regularly jogged around the neighborhood.
Raised in Kaneohe, Afuso graduated from Castle High School in 1983.
She graduated from Cannon’s Business College in Honolulu and worked as a legal assistant for law firm Green Ning Lilly & Jones, now Ning Lilly & Jones.
Afuso then worked as a clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge Francis Yamashita before she worked as a courtroom manager for Chang.
Family members described her as genuine and compassionate.
"She’s the nicest person on the face of the earth, and I mean that literally," said her sister-in-law, Saundra Smith. "She is the sweetest, most giving person you’ll ever meet."
Smith added, "She always saw the good in everybody."
Family members also said she was a great wife and mother. Afuso’s and her husband’s lives were centered on their two teenage children, Christopher and Kerstyn. Family was her life, said loved ones, adding that she also took care of her parents.
Family members said she will be best remembered for her warm nature and her willingness to help everybody. Afuso is listed as an organ donor.
Survivors also include parents Roy and Grace Moriyama, and nieces and nephews. Services will be held at 3 p.m. Feb. 20 at Hosoi Garden Mortuary.
