Fatality victim was passenger, not driver of vehicle 09-03-03

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT LEROY VICTORINO
PHONE: 961-2332
SEPTEMBER 3, 2003
H-61406/HL

MEDIA RELEASE CORRECTION

The victim who died in a single-car collision Saturday (August 30, 2003) in Hilo was misidentified as the driver of the car.

A media release mistakenly identified the victim, Patti Gene Berry, 52, of Pahoa, Puna, as the driver of the vehicle. Berry was instead a passenger in the car, which was driven by her husband, James Berry.

Patti Gene Berry died after a crash that occurred about 7 p.m. Saturday. South Hilo patrol officers determined that the driver lost control of the 1985 Honda four-door sedan while traveling south near the intersection of Kilauea Avenue and Volcano Highway (Route 11) near the four-mile marker. The car ran off the road and struck a large boulder.

The victim was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Berry’s death was the 20th traffic fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared with 18 at the same time last year.

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