Truck accident kills two sisters

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

KAINALIU, Hawai'i — Two sisters, ages 3 and 12, were killed yesterday when their unoccupied family pickup truck rolled over them at their South Kona home.

Police have not released the names of the victims.

The accident happened before 8:30 a.m. in the driveway of the girls' residence on a private road off Hawai'i Belt Road, near the 113-mile marker in Kainaliu.

The sisters were sitting in the Ford F-350 four-door truck when the younger child got out and was followed by the 12-year-old, said Lt. Randall Medeiros. A short time later, the truck rolled backward down the sloped driveway and ran over both children, he said.

The girls were transported to Kona Community Hospital, where they were pronounced dead shortly before 11 a.m.

Police did not say whether any adults were home at the time or what might have caused the truck to roll down the driveway.

Medeiros said investigators are awaiting autopsy results and will be checking whether the truck had any mechanical problems.

Reach Hugh Clark at 808-935-3916 or at hclark@honoluluadvertiser.com.