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Victims in head-on collision identified 02-17-04

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT LEROY VICTORINO
PHONE: 961-2332
FEBRUARY 17, 2004
H-80876/KN

MEDIA RELEASE UPDATE

Three persons were killed Monday evening (February 16, 2004) in a head-on collision on Queen Kaahumanu Highway (Route 19) about six-tenths of a mile south of the 84-mile marker in Kaupulehu, North Kona.

Responding to a 9:15 p.m. call, police determined that a 2000 yellow Ford Mustang driven north by a 31-year-old visitor from Japan, identified as Toru Kanda, crossed the centerline and collided with an oncoming 2003 red Toyota pickup truck.

The victims in the pickup were identified as Frank Kramm, 53, of Holualoa, and Christen Wright-Hill, 39, of Kailua-Kona.

A passenger in the Mustang, identified as Noriko Kanda, 32, Toru Kanda’s wife, was taken to the Kona Community Hospital, where she was treated for injuries and confined in good condition.

The other three victims were pronounced dead at the hospital at 12:40 a.m.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation into the case and have ordered autopsies to determine the exact cause of the three deaths.

Monday’s deaths bring the number of traffic fatalities on the Big Island to seven so far this year, compared to two during the same period last year.

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