HILO, Hawai'i — A 66-year-old Kailua, Kona, woman died yesterday morning and an 11-year-old Pepe'ekeo boy died yesterday afternoon in two unrelated Big Island crashes.

In the first crash, Cristina Galutira was pronounced dead at the Kona Community Hospital at 7:03 a.m. after the car she was riding in was struck head-on by a sedan traveling south on the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway.

Galutira was a passenger in a 2004 Honda four-door sedan traveling north when a Ford four-door sedan traveling south crossed the center line near Henry Street shortly before 4:49 a.m., police said.

The two cars collided, and the Ford was then struck by a 1999 four-door Plymouth sedan traveling north, police said. Fire officials reported one of the cars was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

The driver of the Ford, a 22-year-old Keauhou woman, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant, negligent homicide and two counts of negligent injury.

The driver of the Honda, Galutira's 69-year-old husband, was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he underwent surgery. The driver of the Plymouth, a 61-year-old Kailua man, was listed in stable condition at the Kona hospital, and the driver of the Ford suffered minor injuries, police said.

In a separate crash, police said 11-year-old Christopher Bartolome-Robinson died yesterday afternoon from injuries he suffered in a head-on collision at Pu'uanahulu shortly before 1 p.m.

Police said the boy was riding in a 1993 Acura two-door sedan driven north by his uncle when the vehicle crossed the center line, colliding with a 2006 Chevrolet four-door sedan traveling in the opposite direction.

Bartolome-Robinson was taken to North Hawai'i Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:12 p.m. The boy's uncle, a 35-year-old Pahoa man, was also taken to the hospital; no information was available yesterday on his condition.

The driver of the Chevrolet, a 40-year-old Honolulu man, was not hurt, police said.

Police and fire officials said the crash near mile marker 22 of Mamalahoa Highway may have been weather related because there was a light rain and the road was wet. The crash prompted police to close the road for about two hours.

The deaths bring the number of traffic fatalities on the Big Island this year to 11, the same number it had at this time last year.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.