One teen dies, four hurt in weekend car crashes

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

Four teenagers were seriously injured early yesterday when the pickup truck they were riding in hit a wooden fence and a utility pole on Kamehameha Highway in front of the Polynesian Cultural Center.

In another accident yesterday a teenager died in a crash on the Big Island.

Police said alcohol may be a factor in the O'ahu accident.

Two girls were thrown from the bed of the truck after it hit the pole, said HFD Capt. Kenison Tejada. All four teens were flown to The Queen's Medical Center, one in critical condition, the others in serious condition.

The driver of the white Chevy pickup was a 17-year-old male. The passenger in the cab was a 19-year-old woman, and the two girls riding in the back of the truck were 16 and 15.

No one in the truck was wearing a seat belt.

Police, firefighters and Emergency Medical Service personnel responded to the crash at 8:40 a.m. The accident closed both lanes of Kamehameha Highway for more than two hours. A contraflow lane was up and running by 11 a.m.

In the Big Island crash, a 17-year-old boy died after his Chevy Blazer veered off the road and into a grove of trees at about 3:30 a.m. He was pinned within the vehicle and was dead by the time firefighters arrived.

The accident was near the intersection of Highway 132 and Pohoiki Road.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.