HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER GALI
PHONE: 961-2332
JUNE 13, 2006
REPORT NO. C06018240

MEDIA RELEASE

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are investigating a fatal auto-pedestrian accident on the Panaewa stretch of Highway 11 that was reported at 4:23 a.m. Tuesday (June 13, 2006).

A 72-year-old woman was traveling toward Hilo when her 1991 Toyota station wagon hit the pedestrian, identified as Julia T.I. Nishimoto, 23, of Hilo. Nishimoto was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 6:40 a.m.

Officers closed one Hilo-bound lane from about 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. while they documented the scene.

Police do not believe speed or alcohol were factors in the crash. They have initiated a standard negligent homicide investigation.

The fatality is the 16th this year, compared with the same number at this time last year.