Well-known Hawaii playwright and author Lisa Matsumoto died Friday after driving her car the wrong way on the H-1 Freeway and colliding head-on with another vehicle.

Lisa Matsumoto, 43, was driving a Toyota Camry East in the West-bound lanes of the H-1 near Bishop Museum when the crash happened at about 3:30 a.m. She was taken to the Queen's Medical Center where she later died.

Cassie Olaivar, 35, of Village Park was in the other car, a Toyota Corolla.

Olaivar's father, Gilbert Olaivar, told KGMB9 she was heading home for her job as a receptionist at the Ala Moana Hotel.

"I guess the car that was in front of her ... saw the person coming towards them so I guess they tried to avoid it. My daughter was right behind. I guess she couldn't even see it and the car kind of went straight for her," Gilbert Olaivar said.

Emergency crews quickly got Olaivar out of her car and took her to the hospital with a broken leg and a laceration on her head. Her father expects her to recover from her injuries.

Matsumoto was pinned in her car, but was eventually extricated and taken away with critical internal injuries.

Police believe Matsumoto made a horrible mistake, using an exit from the West-bound lanes to access the freeway in the wrong direction.

The Likelike exit is the exit closest to the crash site, but police doubt Matsumoto got onto the freeway there because before collision happened at least two people called 911 to say they had seen a car going the wrong way on the freeway.

"It does appear that she was probably on the freeway for a period of time due to the length of time the people had to call in. We had a few calls in to our 911 so based on that we feel that she was driving for a while heading in the wrong direction," said Maj. Susan Dowsett of the Honolulu Police Department.

Police said they do not know yet if alcohol was a factor in the crash, but said it is very unusual for a local resident familiar with the freeway to drive in the wrong direction.

Rembering Lisa Matsumoto
Friends Remember Lisa Matsumoto

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