A 33-year-old Kona woman died Monday (January 28) from injuries she sustained in a one-vehicle crash on the old Mamalahoa Highway (Route 180) in the area of the 2-mile marker.

The driver was identified as Danyea L. Kuanoni of a Holualoa address.

Responding to a 7:46 p.m. call (January 27), Kona patrol officers determined that the driver was operating a 1991 Honda 4-door sedan and was traveling north on the old Mamalahoa Highway when she crossed the centerline and ran off the left side of the road. 

The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported to Kona Community Hospital and later flown to The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, where she died this morning at 8:06 a.m.

Police believe that speed and alcohol were factors in this crash.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated a coroner’s inquest case and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

This is the third traffic fatality on the Big Island this year compared with four at this time last year.