Puna Information Update for Saturday, January 14th, 2023
Two people were fatally injured in two separate vehicle accidents in the Puna District on Friday, January 13th and Saturday, January 14th, 2023.
Published by: HIRSC - Hawai'i Island (Hilo) and O'ahu (Waipi'o) Team
info@hiradioscannercommunity.com
From the Hawai'i Police Department (HPD):
Hawai‘i Island police are investigating a single-vehicle collision that occurred on Friday evening, January 13, 2023, on Aulii Street near the 41st Avenue intersection in Kea‘au that left one woman dead.
Responding to the reported traffic collision at 10:02 p.m. on Friday, Puna patrol officers determined that three adult females and two minors were occupants of a Polaris Utility Terrain Vehicle, (UTV), that was traveling south on 41st Avenue when it took a wide left turn (east) onto Aulii Street, causing the operator to lose control of the vehicle resulting in a roll-over crash.
The operator, identified as 42-year-old Jessica Santos of Pahoa, was unresponsive at the scene. Santos was transported to Hilo Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead at 1:11 a.m. on Saturday, January 14, 2023. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
One of the minors reportedly sustained minimal injuries that did not require further medical attention at the scene. The remaining three occupants were not injured in the collision.
At this time, police believe that speed and inattention are contributing factors to this collision.
The East Hawaii Traffic Enforcement Unit has initiated a coroner’s inquest and will continue their investigation into this traffic collision. Police are asking for anyone who may have witnessed the collision or who has information about it, to contact Officer Jerome Duarte at (808) 961-2339 or via email at Jerome.Duarte@HawaiiCounty.gov.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers islandwide at (808) 961-8300.
This is the second fatal traffic collision of 2023 compared to two fatal traffic collisions during this same time period last year.
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Hawai‘i Island police are investigating a traffic collision that occurred Saturday morning, January 14, 2023, in Kea‘au involving a vehicle and a pedestrian that left one man dead.
At 5:09 a.m. on Saturday, Puna patrol officers responded to a single-vehicle traffic collision on Highway 130, in the vicinity of the 3-mile marker, where the operator of the vehicle involved reported that something had struck her vehicle windshield and shattered it.
Hawai‘i Fire Department (HFD) personnel were the first to arrive on scene and observed an unresponsive male in the Hilo-bound lane with severe head and body trauma, approximately 300 feet north of where the involved vehicle was parked.
The male pedestrian, who appears to be in his 50s, was later transported to the Hilo Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 8:53 a.m. The victim is unknown at this time, pending identification and notification of next of kin.
Police investigators determined that a blue Acura sedan was traveling Pāhoa bound in the Number 2 lane (right-hand lane) on Highway 130 when it struck the pedestrian, who was on foot in the vicinity between the Number 1 and Number 2 lane of the Pāhoa-bound section of the highway. It was noted that the pedestrian was wearing dark clothing and there were no roadway lights in the area.
The operator of the Acura, a 46-year-old female from Kea‘au, sustained minor injuries from the shattered windshield of her vehicle after the collision. Also in the vehicle were the driver’s three children—a minor and two adult children —who were not injured from the collision.
Police do not believe alcohol, drugs, speed, or inattention were factors in the crash.
An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
The East Hawaii Traffic Enforcement Unit has initiated a coroner’s inquest investigation and will continue their investigation into this traffic collision. Police are asking for anyone who may have witnessed the collision or who has information about it, to contact Officer Jerome Duarte at (808) 961-2339 or via email at Jerome.Duarte@HawaiiCounty.gov.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers islandwide at (808) 961-8300.
This is the second traffic fatality on island in the past 24 hours. It is the third fatal traffic collision of 2023 compared to two fatal traffic collisions during this same time period last year.