Miloli'i mourning deaths of 4 killed in Puna crash
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 just five days — when they decided to drive to Hilo Wednesday 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, who lived in Kealakehe.
KAHELE
BEACH
KUAHUIA
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 people in 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, sister-in-law Josephine Kahele said.
"Everybody was so stoked for him. Arthur was getting the house ready for the new arrival and something like this has to happen," said Josephine Kahele, who is married to Arthur's brother, Nelson Kahele Jr.
Arthur Kahele and Beach, a house painter, had been together two years; Beach has a young son in kindergarten, Kawena, from a previous relationship.
Josephine Kahele said she last saw her brother-in-law Tuesday night when he dropped by to talk story and ride motorcycles.
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.
"Her two girls and three grandchildren were the love of her life," Josephine Kahele said. "She would do anything for them."
Kuahuia had known her husband since high school. Kahele described Taetuna, originally from Kane'ohe, as "quiet and helpful. He had a big heart."
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," she said.
Police said the deadly collision occurred at 11:40 a.m. when Arthur Kahele apparently lost control of the sedan. It spun across the two-lane highway and into the Green Travel & Tours 25-seat Ford minibus carrying 14 passengers, all tourists from California and Taiwan.
There was thick fog and heavy rain, and police said witnesses reported the Toyota was speeding.
At least 12 of the tour bus occupants were taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.
The tour bus had picked up passengers at the Hilo Airport for an all-day tour and was heading to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The collision occurred about eight miles north of the park entrance.
Autopsies on the victims were scheduled for yesterday and today. Josephine Kahele said funeral plans have not been announced, but that its likely there will be a joint service for all four.
Reach Neighbor Island editor Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
