A head-on collision on Highway 19 north of Papaikou early Saturday morning left one person dead and another in the hospital.
Firefighters and police responding to the 4:10 a.m. accident just south of the junction with Old Onomea Road found single occupants in two vehicles, both of them pinned due to extensive damage to their vehicles, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department. The occupant of a sedan was pronounced dead at the scene. A male occupant of a pickup truck was transported to Hilo Medical Center.
Both drivers were extricated using spreaders and cutters.
Highway 19 between Kulaimano and Onomea was closed to traffic while the Hawaii Police Dept. investigated the collision, and motorists were detoured down the Onomea Scenic Route. The highway reopened around 9 a.m. The cause of the crash is under investigation by police, who have not yet released the identity of the deceased driver.