Big Island collision kills four

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

Arthur Kahele, 29, and Sheena Beach, 21, were awaiting the birth of their first child — a daughter who was due in only five days — when they decided to drive to Hilo yesterday to buy new tires for their Toyota Matrix.

Joining them on the drive from South Kona were Kahele's sister, Adeline Kuahuia, 42, and her husband, Siafa Taetuna, 39.

All four were killed after their sedan began sliding and spinning on rain-slicked Volcano Highway and collided with a tour minibus near Glenwood, Puna.

At least a dozen tourists on the Green Travel & Tours minibus suffered minor injuries.

Kahele, from a large Miloli'i family, was a mechanic and tile layer who liked to race motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, said sister-in-law Josephine Kahele.

"Everybody was so stoked for him. Arthur was getting the house ready for the new arrival and something like this has to happen," she said.

Arthur Kahele and Beach, a house painter, had been together two years, and Beach has a young son, Kawena, from a previous relationship.

Josephine Kahele said she last saw her brother-in-law Tuesday night when he dropped by to ride motorcycles and talk story.

Kuahuia, Arthur's sister, has two daughters, Jodie Kuahuia, in her late teens, and Judie Taetuna, 9. Jodie just had a baby girl three weeks ago, and also has two sons. Adeline, known by her Hawaiian name Luana, was a housekeeper at the Kona Reef hotel, and devoted herself to helping her daughter care for her young children.

Kuahuia was the oldest of eight brothers and two sisters and was like a mother to her siblings, Kahele said. "Everybody knew she was always there for anybody," she said.

Kahele said Miloli'i is a small, tight-knit community, and family and friends are coping with the tragedy by "leaning on each other. Here in Miloli'i, everybody pulls together. The families are all related, we're all aunties and uncles."

Police said the collision happened at 11:40 a.m. when Arthur Kahele apparently lost control of the sedan, sending it spinning across the two-lane highway and into the Green Travel & Tours 25-seat Ford minibus.

At the time of the accident, the fog was thick and the pavement wet, said Assistant Police Chief Charles Chai. Witnesses reported the driver was speeding.

At least 12 of the tour bus passengers, all tourists from California and Taiwan, were taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.

Dien Nekoba, owner of Green Travel & Tours, said the tour bus driver had time to hit the brakes but was unable to avoid the crash. An air bag saved the driver from serious injury, she said.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.