Samuel Furtado, 55, of Volcano; Loretta Kae Larson Rafferty, 46, of Upper Puna; and Lucia Clearwater, 60, of Volcano, were in Furtado's 2005 Porsche SUV traveling toward Ka'u when it collided with two cars headed toward Hilo at 10 p.m. Friday.

They were all killed.

The lead car traveling in the opposite direction toward Hilo was a 2006 Chrysler convertible rental car carrying Candice Shonah Chisholm, 32, and Owen Lloyd Romaine, 33, both of Vancouver, British Columbia. Chisholm and Romaine also died.

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Chief Ranger Talmadge Magno confirmed today that "excessive speed and alcohol are contributing factors in this accident."

The crash is being investigated by the park service because it occurred about 100 yards inside the park boundary, near the 28-mile marker of the Volcano Highway.

The second Hilo-bound car was a 2004 Chevrolet two-door sedan driven by Antony Gross, 37, of Kea'au. Gross is hospitalized at The Queen's Medical Center. His passenger, Volcano resident Daniel Roland Fisher, 43, declined medical treatment.