HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER D. GALI
PHONE: 961-2332
AUGUST 10, 2005
C05026662/HL
NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE

MEDIA RELEASE

An 84-year-old Hilo woman died Tuesday (August 9, 2005) from injuries she suffered when struck by a car on Wailuku Drive just above Waiau Street in Hilo.

The victim was identified as Fumiko Iko, of a Wailuku Drive address.

Responding to a 4:47 p.m. call, South Hilo patrol officer determined that the victim was kneeling down and weeding grass at the edge of her neighbor’s driveway and Wailuku Drive when her neighbor, a 68-year-old man, reversed from the driveway in a 1990 Ford two-door sedan and struck the victim.

The woman was taken by fire rescue personnel to the Hilo Medical Center, where she later died at 5:15 p.m.

Neither speed nor alcohol are considered factors in the accident.

A standard negligent homicide investigation has been initiated and an autopsy ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

Thursday’s death was the 21st traffic fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared to 25 at the same time last year.

# # #