A 34-year-old man was killed last night in a head-on collision on Kamehameha Highway between Kahuku and Turtle Bay, a city official said.

The other driver, a woman in her 20s, was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, said city emergency services spokesman Bryan Cheplic. They were the only people involved in the crash, he said.

The accident happened about 7:30 p.m. near the intersection with Marconi Road. Police closed the highway in both directions for more than three hours.

A witness, Mitch DeGeus of Kailua, said he was driving from the North Shore toward Windward O'ahu when a pickup truck passed his vehicle, then another vehicle before colliding with an oncoming car.

CHONG TAKES OVER HOUSE POSITION

State Rep. Pono Chong has been named vice speaker of the House, replacing Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu, who stepped down from the post last month after facing a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Chong, D-49th (Maunawili, Olomana, Enchanted Lake, Kaneohe), has been a member of the Legislature since 2004.

Karamatsu will take over Chong's former assignments as vice chair of the Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs, and as a member of the Finance and the Energy and Environmental Protection committees.

In another change, Rep. Karen Awana — who recently switched to the Democratic Party — will become the new vice chairwoman of the Committee on International Affairs.

MARINES HOSTING BODYSURF EVENT

About 150-plus people are expected to compete in the second annual 3D Marines Pyramid Rock Bodysurfing Championship today and tomorrow.

The competition, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pyramid Rock Beach, aims to raise money for the 3D Marines Wounded Warrior fund, which helps the wounded and their families. The event is sanctioned by the Hawaii State Bodysurfing Association.

Drivers entering the base may be required to present their driver's license, vehicle registration, safety check and proof of insurance.

For more information, go to www.mccshawaii.com/bodysurf.htm

SUSAN SOONG WINS FOR POETRY

Susan Soong of Honolulu has been named the recipient of the James M. Vaughan Award for Poetry at Hawai'i Pacific University.

She will receive $500 and be recognized at HPU's 11th annual Ko'olau Writing Workshops on March 8 at HPU's Windward Hawai'i Loa campus in Kane'ohe.

Soong's winning poem, "Andante," was selected from about 70 entries. It will be published in volume 22 of HPU's literary magazine, Hawai'i Pacific Review, scheduled to come out this summer.

The James M. Vaughan Award for Poetry is named after Hawai'i Pacific University alumnus James M. Vaughan, who established a fund to enhance the literature and poetry programs at HPU. Each year HPU recognizes a Hawai'i writer for an outstanding poem or group of poems.