Police Beat
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Moloka'i crash kills girl, 17
A 17-year-old girl was killed early yesterday on Moloka'i when her car ran off Farrington Avenue and overturned. Police said the accident occurred at 4:10 a.m., just west of Pu'upe'elua Avenue.
Kehau K. Low of Kualapu'u was pronounced dead less than two hours later at Moloka'i General Hospital. Police said she was driving west when she lost control of the car, which overturned.
Low, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the 1999 Honda Civic.
Police continued to investigate yesterday to determine whether speed, alcohol or drugs were factors in the wreck.
Seat belt may have saved girl
Maui police say a traffic death in Ma'alaea underscores the need for back-seat passengers to buckle up.
Marie Larrobis, 16, might have survived a head-on collision Thursday evening if she had worn a seat belt, Lt. Charles Hirata said.
The Lahainaluna High School student was lying down in the back seat of a van when it was hit by an oncoming truck on Honoapi'ilani Highway near McGregor Point. She was pronounced dead Friday at Maui Memorial Medical Center, where the two drivers were being treated for injuries.
Under state law, all front-seat passengers and back-seat passengers under the age of 18 must wear seat belts.
Two tourists killed in Big Island crash
Two Hungarian women were killed yesterday on the Big Island after their tour guide lost control of his car and struck a macadamia nut tree.
Police were withholding the names of the two women. One was 67 years old and the other was 77. Both were pronounced dead about 5 p.m. at Hilo Medical Center.
Their driver, a 48-year-old Honolulu man, received only minor injuries in the crash and was not hospitalized, according to Sgt. Samuel V. Jelsma of the Hawai'i County Traffic Enforcement Unit.
He said the accident happened at about 2:45 p.m. on Mac Nut Road, a private drive off Route 11 that leads to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory.
After losing control of the 2002 Dodge sedan he was driving, the man ran off the right shoulder before crashing into the tree.
The man was wearing a seat belt and front air bags deployed, police said. Although one of the two women was sitting in the front seat, neither was wearing a seat belt.
There were no indications yesterday that the driver was intoxicated, Jelsma said.
