Sisters, killed by truck, part of noted family
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
KAINALIU, Hawai'i — Two girls killed Monday when they were run over in their driveway by an unattended pickup truck were members of the well-known Nobriga ranching family of Kona.
Camille "Kuulei" Kauhaihao, 12, and her sister Anela, 3, suffered fatal head injuries in the accident at their residence on a private road off Hawai'i Belt Road, police said. Their parents are John and Lilinoe Kauhaihao, who also have a 16-year-old daughter and a younger girl who was Anela's twin.
Camille was a budding rodeo competitor who just finished the sixth grade at Konawaena Elementary School. Principal Claire Yoshida said Camille was an active child who was involved in the student council and was a narrator for the school's recent May Day program.
"I remember her as a very sparkly kid. She had a real shine in her eyes," Yoshida said.
Veterinarian Billy Bergin of Waimea, who fosters youth rodeo events, said the community is saddened by the tragedy. "This family has been a big part of our success," said Bergin.
Police are still investigating why the Ford F-350 pickup rolled backward down the driveway, striking the two sisters. Police said the girls and their mother had gotten into the truck and were about to leave but the mother got out of the vehicle briefly.
The two girls, first Anela and then Camille, then exited the truck. Moments later it rolled backward toward them. Paramedics reported that the girls were lifeless at the scene. They were taken to Kona Community Hospital, where they were pronouced dead just before 11 a.m. An autopsy has been ordered.
Police have not said whether the truck's engine was running at the time of the accident. It could take several weeks to get results of a mechanical inspection of the vehicle, according to investigators.
The two girls were the grandchildren of retired Kona police commander Edwin Nobriga and his wife, Barbara, who is vice regent of the statewide Daughters of Hawai'i movement that manages the Hulihe'e Palace in Kailua and a key 4-H leader and third-generation rancher.
"This is a tragedy that affects us all," said Fannie Au Hoy, administrator of the palace.
The girls' great-grandmother is noted Hilo horsewoman Kapua Wall Heuer, who two years ago was inducted into the Paniolo Hall of Fame — the first woman to be so honored.
The Nobrigas donated the family's Waihou House to the Kona Historical Society to be re-created as a living museum.
Services for the two girls have not been announced.
Reach Hugh Clark at hclark@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808)935-3916.
Correction: Anela Kauhaihao, 3, and her sister were killed Monday when they were hit by a truck that rolled down a driveway on the Big Island. Anela's name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
