HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT SAMUEL V. JELSMA
PHONE: 961-2332
DECEMBER 19, 1999
G-14663/G-14664
MEDIA RELEASE UPDATE
Two men have died as a result of a one-car traffic accident that occurred Sunday morning (December 19, 1999) on Alii Drive near the 2-mile marker in Kailua-Kona.
The driver, who was killed in the crash, was identified as Joseph Wayne Taboniar, 23, of Kealakekua. The second fatality, a front seat passenger, was identified as Sean Kahele, 24, of Honolulu.
Marian Yates, 27, of Honalo, a back seat passenger, was treated for injuries at the Kona Community Hospital and released.
Responding to a 1:15 a.m. call, police investigators determined that the vehicle, a 1993 Toyota sedan, was heading south on Alii Drive when it crossed the centerline and struck a rock wall and then a utility pole fronting the Holualoa Bay Villas.
The victims were taken to the Kona hospital, where the Taboniar and Kahele were pronounced dead at 3:47 a.m.
According to witnesses, the vehicle appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed before the accident and alcohol appears to be involved.
Traffic Enforcement unit officers are continuing the investigation, and autopsies have been ordered to determine the exact cause of the deaths.
The accident resulted in the 29th and 30th traffic fatalities so far this year compared to 43 at the same time last year.
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