Two dead in Kona collision

KAILUA-KONA — A collision between a dump truck and an SUV in Kailua-Kona Thursday afternoon left two people dead and another injured.

According to a report from the Hawaii Fire Department, a dump truck carrying a full load of gravel T-boned an SUV near the 31.5 mile marker on Highway 190, commonly known as Mamalahoa Highway, in North Kona at approximately 12:34 p.m. Both vehicles came to a stop off the roadway on the makai side.

The department responded at 12:40 p.m., arriving at the scene at 12:42 p.m. The report indicated that two people in the SUV were pronounced dead on arrival. The driver of the dump truck self-extricated and was later transported by medics to Kona Community Hospital.

The number of people in the SUV at the time of the incident has not been confirmed, but Jeffrey Werle, who was travelling to Hilo with Johnathon Isidro, drove by the wreckage in the immediate aftermath of the collision.

“There was still smoke in the air, the tires were still spinning,” Werle said. “People were out on the road and a woman was screaming, ‘My baby, my baby!’ with her hands in the air.”

Whether the woman who Werle observed was involved in the collision directly is unknown, as is the name and age of the person to whom she was referring.

Werle and Isidro continued on, notifying authorities of what they’d seen. They were told responders were already en route to the collision site.

Other civilians at the scene Thursday afternoon declined to comment.

The incident resulted in a closure of the highway for several hours. The cause of the collision is still under investigation, and authorities have yet to release the names of the parties involved.

Through Nov. 27, there had been 24 fatal crashes on Hawaii Island, which resulted in 28 fatalities, according to statistics provided by the Hawaii Police Department. Thursday’s incident pushes those totals up to 25 fatal crashes and 30 deaths to date in 2016.