1 dead, 2 injured in head-on crash in South Kona

A woman was killed and two others were injured Friday evening in a head-on collision on Highway 11 in South Kona.

The woman who died was the lone occupant of one of the vehicles involved in the crash near mile marker 97, south of the Kona Paradise subdivision, said Hawaii Police Department Sgt. Grad Elarionoff from the scene late Friday. A man and woman were in the other vehicle.

He was unable to provide a make and model of the vehicles Friday night because of their condition after the crash, which he said likely involved high speeds.

A photo of the crash provided to West Hawaii Today showed what appears to be a silver four-door pickup on the makai side of the highway and a gold-colored four-door sedan off the mauka side of the highway on a sharp corner.

Hawaii Fire Department Battalion Chief John Whitman said fire rescue personnel responded at 7:19 p.m. to find one patient dead on arrival.

In a press release issued Saturday morning, the fire department said the woman who died was 34 years old and was pinned within a compact car. The injured man was 66 and the woman was 63; they were pinned in a mid-size truck.

Medics transported the injured victims in serious condition to Kona Community Hospital. Initially, a helicopter was dispatched to the scene, however, it was canceled en route because their injuries did not require the immediate transport, Whitman added.

Highway 11 was closed shortly after the crash between mile markers 96 and 97. At about 9:30 p.m., Elarionoff said the road closure was expected to last about 4.5 hours. There are no alternate routes.