Posted on: Monday, February 7, 2005

100-mph crash on H-1 kills woman

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser Staff Writer

A woman who was said to be driving at more than 100 mph on the H-1 Freeway yesterday was killed in a fiery crash near Middle Street, police said.

The one-car accident at 11 a.m. prompted police to close all westbound lanes of the freeway until about 4 p.m., causing traffic to back up for miles. Police diverted traffic onto the Hickam off-ramp before Ola Lane.

Witnesses told police a brown 2003 Chevy Cavalier was speeding at more than 100 mph westbound on H-1, but was not racing anyone, police Sgt. John Agno said.

Just past the Middle Street area, the car hit a plastic yellow crash-impact barrel where the freeway forks to H-1 Freeway on the right and Moanalua Freeway on the left. It flipped several times and skidded on its roof, Agno said.

The car burst into flames and its driver, the sole occupant, was severely burned.

"She was trapped inside the vehicle," Agno said. "I don't know why she was driving so fast."

Police did not immediately identify the woman.

At about the same time yesterday in Windward O'ahu, a 31-year-old man suffered critical injuries when his 2003 Nissan Sentra hit a monkeypod tree on Kamehameha Highway, about 300 feet north of Waiahole Valley Road.

The man was flown by medevac helicopter to The Queen's Medical Center.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.