Hawai‘i Police Department
Traffic Enforcement Unit
Sergeant Jeremy Riddle
Phone: 961-2339
Report No. 23-094066
Media Release
Police have charged 70-year-old Carlton Inada of Hilo with negligent homicide and failure to render aid following a fatal traffic collision on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, in which a 79-year-old Hilo woman died.
Police responded to a reported traffic collision at 9:51 a.m. Tuesday involving a motor vehicle and a bicyclist on Akolea Road just south of Waianuenue Avenue.
Police investigators determined that a 2016 Toyota Tacoma driven by Inada was traveling south bound on Akolea Road when it struck an orange Recumbent Trike, operated by 79-year-old Barbara Klein of Hilo, who was also traveling south in the south bound lane. Inada left the scene and proceeded to his residence where he notified police that he had struck a cyclist on Akolea Road. He was subsequently arrested.
Klein was unresponsive at the scene and transported to the Hilo Medical Center via ambulance where she was pronounced dead at 10:56 a.m. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.
After conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, Inada was charged on Thursday, October 5, with the following offenses:
- Second-degree negligent homicide
- Leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious bodily injury
His bail was set at $100,000 and he currently remains in custody at the Hilo Police Station pending his initial court appearance.
