Victim of Saddle Road Accident Identified 11-12-01

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT SAMUEL V. JELSMA
PHONE: 961-2332
NOVEMBER 12, 2001
G-86953

MEDIA RELEASE

Police have identified a female victim who died in a traffic accident Saturday night (November 10, 2001) on Saddle Road in which five others were injured.

The victim was identified as Savaliatoa Ape, 26, of American Samoa, who was attending the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Ape was killed when a vehicle in which she was riding ran off the road and overturned several times. Five other females were injured in the accident, which occurred at the 43-mile marker on Saddle Road (Route 200) near the Girl Scout Camp in the Hamakua District.

Police determined that a rented 2002 Nissan Pathfinder driven by Diane Crichton, 21, of Hilo, and occupied by five other females, was heading east when it ran off the right shoulder of the roadway and overturned several times, throwing Ape from the vehicle.

Police are investigating reports that one or possibly two westbound vehicles had forced the victims’ Pathfinder off the road, causing the rollover. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or arrived at the scene after it occurred is asked to call Officer Kenneth Quiocho at 326-4277 or the Traffic Enforcement Unit at 961-2332.

Traffic Enforcement Unit Officers are continuing an investigation into the crash, and an autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

Ape’s death was the 25th traffic fatality so far this year on the Big Island, compared to 32 at the same time last year.

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