A car plunged from a downtown Honolulu parking garage onto Hotel Street Friday afternoon, killing the woman driving it — a tragedy that could easily have been far worse.

• The car went through a barrier on an upper level and landed upside down on the street below.
• The woman behind the wheel died at the scene; her name has not been released.
• The street is normally packed with people heading to lunch or home at that hour, but the spot where the car landed happened to be empty.
• Nearby workers say a similar crash happened at the same parking spot back in 2005.
• Crews boarded up the hole in the building, removed the car, and reopened the street quickly.

Outlook: Investigators have yet to say what caused the car to go over the edge, and questions about the garage's barriers are likely to follow.