Posted on: Monday, May 30, 2005

Two injured critically in traffic accidents

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

A woman and teenage girl were critically injured in separate traffic accidents last night in Punalu'u and Makaha.

The woman was the lone occupant in a Dodge pickup truck that struck and severed a utility pole fronting Ching's Punalu'u Store at 53-360 Kamehameha Highway at 8:25 p.m.

Paramedics and firefighters treated the unconscious woman before she was taken to Kahuku Hospital in "extremely critical" condition. A section of Kamehameha Highway from Green Valley to Punalu'u Beach Park was closed to traffic in both directions.

At 8:10 p.m. in Makaha, a 14-year-old girl was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street fronting 84-153 Jade St. The driver of the vehicle left the scene but reportedly returned a short time later and was being questioned by police. The injured girl was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where her condition was upgraded from critical to stable.