- Hawaii Police Department - https://www.hawaiipolice.com -

Kohala fatality 09-30-07 (posted 10-01-07)

Hawaii Police Department
Traffic Enforcement Unit
Sergeant Christopher D. Gali
Phone: 961-2332
September 30, 2007
Report No. C07031791

Media Release

A 7-year-old California boy died Sunday (September 30) from injuries he sustained in a one-vehicle crash on Kohala Ranch Road, 1.8 miles east of Akoni Pule Highway.

The boy was identified as Razak Meyer of Carlsbad, California.

Responding to a 10:26 a.m. call, North Kohala patrol officers determined that the boy’s mother, a 28-year-old California woman, was traveling west on Kohala Ranch Road and operating a Pontiac G6 four-door sedan when she lost control, ran off the right side of the road and overturned.

The victim, driver, and two siblings — a 4-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl — were flown by fire department helicopter to North Hawaii Community Hospital. The two children were treated and released with minor injuries.

The 7-year-old boy was pronounced dead at 11:20 a.m.

The driver, Elaine Meyer of Carlsbad, California, was arrested for negligent homicide in the first degree and operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. She was released pending investigation so she could be flown in serious condition to The Queens Medical Center on Oahu.

Police believe that speed and alcohol played roles in the crash.

It is unknown at this time if the victim, who was the front seat passenger, was wearing his seatbelt. The driver was wearing a seat belt and the children in the back seat were in a child restraint seat and a booster seat.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have requested an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Police ask anyone with information about this crash to call Officer Joshua Lewis at 329-4646, extension 229.

Because the crash occurred on private property, the death is not counted toward the official traffic fatality count.