HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
OFFICER CHRISTOPHER P. GALI
PHONE: 961-2332
AUGUST 16, 2001
G-77705
MEDIA RELEASE
A 57-year-old Keaau woman was killed Thursday (August 16, 2001) after being involved in a single-vehicle accident on the Keaau-Pahoa Highway (Route 130).
Responding to a 3 p.m. call, Puna police reported that the victim’s 1994 four-door Mercury Tracer station wagon was traveling south when it ran off the right side of the road about 0.8 miles south of the seven-mile marker and overturned, ejecting her from the vehicle.
The victim, whose name is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin, was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m.
The victim was not wearing a seatbelt, and alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash.
Police have initiated a coroner’s inquest case and ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
This was the 20th traffic fatality so far this year on the Big Island, compared to 25 at the same time last year.
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