KEALAKEKUA — The widow of a Michigan man killed in 2015 in West Hawaii testified Wednesday in Kona Circuit Court during the trial of a former Hawaii police officer charged with negligent homicide in the bicyclist’s death.
Jody Buddemeyer is accused of fatally striking 69-year-old Jeffrey Surnow while operating his subsidized police vehicle as the Michigan man was riding his bicycle east March 1, 2015, on Waikoloa Road.
Surnow’s widow, Elaine, testified Wednesday that she and her husband were on the Big Island in 2015 for their 30th wedding anniversary. The couple was staying at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and the plan was for their children to join them.
Elaine Surnow was emotional as she described the type of man her husband was.
“His hobbies were taking care of his family,” she said. “He always said we were his prized possession.”
Elaine Surnow added her husband was an avid cyclist and would bring a bike to the island to ride during their visits.
“He would ride, I would walk and we’d meet up afterward to have breakfast and talk about life. It was wonderful,” she said.
On the morning of the accident, Elaine Surnow recalled to the court the last moment she had with her husband.
“He hugged me, told me he loved me, kissed me goodbye on my right cheek,” she said.
Elaine Surnow explained to the court that her husband always rode with a baggie that contained his license, his phone, a $20 bill and a room key.
After hours went by and Jeffrey Surnow had not returned to the hotel, Elaine Surnow testified that she knew something was wrong. Eventually, a police officer knocked on the door. She recognized her husband’s baggie in the officer’s hand.
Elaine Surnow recalled the officers asking her to sit down. She refused. Eventually they told her Jeffrey Surnow had been in an accident.
“He said: ‘He’s expired,’” Elaine Surnow told the court in tears. “I’d never heard that word before.”
The same day, police took Elaine Surnow to identify her husband’s body.
“My favorite, strong superman was zipped up in a body bag,” she recalled when she next saw Jeffrey Surnow.
During cross-examination, Buddemeyer’s attorney, Brian De Lima, asked Elaine Surnow if she filed a lawsuit against Hawaii County. Deputy Prosecutor Kauanoe Jackson objected. It was later stipulated that a civil lawsuit was filed against the county.
Jackson called several witnesses to the stand who observed what happened the morning of the March 1, 2015, accident, including Waikoloa Village resident Darren Gee.
Gee told the court he was on his way to Hilo at 6:30 a.m., traveling on Waikoloa Road, when he saw what appeared to be flashing lights on a police vehicle.
“As I drove by, I slowed down and saw a crumpled up bicycle and an officer examining the wheel,” Gee stated.
Gee noted that a body was about 18 feet from the bike.
“It appeared to me the bike had been run over because it was not shaped like a bike,” he testified. “I noticed a police officer there, assumed everything was taken care of and went on to Hilo.”
During cross-examination, Gee told the court there was no shoulder on the roadway. It has since been improved with paved 10- to 11-foot shoulders.
Todd Mardon, a Honokaa resident, drove to Waikoloa Village the morning of the accident to pick up a friend. He testified that it was about 10 minutes before 6 a.m. when he saw a vehicle traveling east by mile marker 11 with one headlight.
“I noticed it made a radical maneuver towards the a‘a,” Mardon testified.
After picking up his friend, Mardon drove past the same area again and saw police vehicles.
“I commented to my friend that I thought I should stop because I thought I saw it happen,” Mardon told the court. “I wouldn’t feel good if I didn’t say anything.”
Mardon stopped and was directed to speak to one of the officers at the scene. The witness recalled to the court that he told the officer what he observed the vehicle with the broken headlight do earlier that morning.
“He commented that it was his car,” Mardon stated about the officer he spoke with. “He hit a pig.”
Mardon testified the officer didn’t take his contact information.
Waikoloa Village resident Mark Henriques also was called to the stand. He testified he was traveling east when he saw a police vehicle driving in the opposite direction do a U-turn in front of him then continue driving east along the shoulder.
After that, Henriques said, he passed the officer slowly.
“As I went up a little more I saw a red light flashing on the side of the road,” he told the court. “Something just made me stop.”
Henriques recalled seeing the bike, then the body after stopping.
“I waved at the officer and told him I think someone got hit,” he testified. “The officer came up to the body. He flipped it over.”
Henriques told the court he asked the officer if the cyclist was dead. The officer responded affirmatively.
“We stood back,” he testified. “I asked if I needed to stay or go and the officer took my information.”
None of the witnesses identified the defendant as the officer they saw at the scene.
The trial continues today. The prosecution is hopeful to rest its case by Friday.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.
