HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT SAMUEL V. JELSMA
PHONE: 961-2332
SEPTEMBER 6, 1999
G-05182
MEDIA RELEASE
A 15-year-old Hilo girl died Monday afternoon (September 6, 1999) following a one-car traffic accident on Stainback Highway about 4 miles mauka of the Volcano Highway (Route 11) intersection and above the Panaewa Zoo.
The victim was identified as Ashley Carvalho, of a Kilauea Street address in Hilo.
Responding to a 2:43 p.m. accident call, police officers determined that the victim was driving a 1991 Honda Accord sedan heading makai on Stainback Highway when she lost control, ran off the right shoulder and overturned the vehicle. The victim, who was not wearing her seatbelt, was thrown from the car.
A front seat male passenger, James Ontiveros, 18, of a Kaumana address, was transported to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was treated and later released.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing the investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Carvalho’s death was the 22nd traffic fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared to 26 at the same time last year.
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