HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
AREA I OPERATIONS BUREAU
ASSISTANT CHIEF CHARLES M. CHAI JR.
PHONE: 961-2341
APRIL 7, 2004
MEDIA RELEASE
One person was killed and eight others were injured in a three-vehicle collision Wednesday (April 7, 2004) on the Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) near Honomu.
The victim was identified as Richard S. Honda, 61, of Fairfield, California.
Responding to a 12:50 p.m. call, South Hilo patrol officers determined that Honda was driving a Dodge van with six passengers north when the van crossed the centerline at about the 12.7-mile marker and collided head on with a Ford DHL Worldwide Express van traveling in the opposite direction. A third vehicle, a Nissan 240SX, traveling behind the courier van then ran into Dodge van.
The drivers of the Ford van and the Nissan, as well as the passengers in the Dodge van — Honda’s wife, daughter and four grandchildren — were taken to the Hilo Medical Center.
The driver of the Ford van, a 28-year-old male, was reported in serious condition, and the driver of the Nissan, a 30-year-old female, and the passengers in the Dodge van were reported in satisfactory condition.
Wednesday’s death was the 16th traffic fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared to seven during the same period last year.
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