HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
OFFICER REED MAHUNA
PHONE: 961-2332
OCTOBER 28, 2004
I-10162/HL
NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE

MEDIA RELEASE

An 80-year-old woman died Wednesday (October 27, 2004) of injuries she sustained in a one-car crash on Kilauea Avenue about one-tenth of a mile south of West Ohea Street in Hilo.

The victim was identified as Mieko Sakai, of a South Hilo address.

Responding to an 11:11 a.m. call, South Hilo patrol officers determined that Sakai was a passenger in a 1990 Toyota Corolla driven south by Tomiko Yoshimura, 84, of Hilo, when the sedan ran off the right side of the road and struck a utility pole.

The victim was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where she died at 4:50 p.m.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation into the crash, and anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Officer Reed Mahuna of the TEU at 961-2332.

This was Hawaii County’s 36th traffic fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared with 29 the same time last year.

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