HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
ACTING SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER GALI
PHONE: 961-2332
MARCH 11, 2001
G-60696/HL
MEDIA RELEASE UPDATE
A 65-year-old Hilo woman died and her husband was critically injured Sunday (March 11, 2001) in a one-car crash on Saddle Road.
The woman was identified as Colleen Bartron. Her husband, identified as Don H. Bartron Sr., 73, was reported in critical condition at Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
Responding to an 11:49 a.m. call, Hilo police determined that the 2000 Porsche two-door convertible was traveling east near the 17-mile marker when the driver, Don Bartron, lost control, and the car crossed the centerline and overturned on the mauka side of the road.
Mrs. Bartron died at the scene of the accident and was pronounced dead at 2:15 p.m. at the Hilo Medical Center.
Her husband was flown by helicopter to the Hilo hospital and later to Queen’s, where he was reported in critical condition.
Both the driver and his passenger were wearing their seatbelts.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. Speed is believed to have been a factor in the accident.
Sunday’s death was the second traffic fatality so far this year on Big Island, compared to seven at the same time last year.
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