Hawai‘i Island police are investigating a two-vehicle head-on collision that occurred on DKI Highway near the 26 mile-marker on Tuesday morning, June 20, 2023, that left three people seriously injured.

Responding to the reported collision at 6:30 a.m., Hilo patrol officers determined that a gray 2022 Honda CRV operated by a 21-year-old woman from Mountain View, was traveling west bound (toward Kona) on DKI Highway when it attempted to pass another vehicle and crossed the center line, colliding head-on with a 2015 white Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by a 24-year-old Mountain View man.

The female operator of the Honda CRV and her 21-year-old male passenger from Mountain View, as well as the operator of the Ford pickup truck, were treated by medics at the scene and transported to the Hilo Medical Center. The Honda driver, who sustained serious leg injuries, was subsequently flown to Queens Medical Center on Oahu for additional treatment. Her male passenger sustained chest injuries and is undergoing surgery.

The driver of the pickup truck was initially listed as critically injured and is awaiting transport to Queens Medical Center on Oahu.  

Investigators with the Area I Traffic Enforcement Unit responded to the scene and police have opened a first-degree negligent injury investigation into the collision. Police believe speeding may have played a role in the crash.

Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed the collision or who may have information about it to please contact the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311 or investigating Officer Michael Rutkowski Michael.rutkowski@hawaiicounty.gov.