HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT SAMUEL V. JELSMA
PHONE: 961-2332
SEPTEMBER 26, 2001
G-82125
MEDIA RELEASE
A 44-year-old man died and two others were seriously injured in a head-on collision that occurred Wednesday (September 26, 2001) on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 19) near the 46-mile marker in the Hamakua District.
The fatality victim was identified as Dennis J. Langston, of a Honomu address.
Responding to a 5:31 p.m. call, police officers determined that a 1988 Honda Prelude sedan driven by Langston was heading toward Hilo when it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a 1990 Jeep pickup driven by Mark Weiner, 50, of Waimea.
Weiner and his front-seat passenger, John Gildroy, 49, also of Waimea, were taken to the North Hawaii Community Hospital, where Gildroy was reported in stable condition. Weiner was later flown on critical condition to Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
Langston was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:37 p.m.
The collision, which occurred below the Boy Scout camp, caused a partial road closure for about two hours before the vehicles could be moved and an oil spill cleaned from the surface of the road.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation into the case and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of Langston’s death. Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the collision.
Langston’s death was the 21st traffic fatality of the year, compared with 30 at the same time last year.
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