Police today identified the second man who died Sunday night in a head-on collision as 65-year-old Frank Rosol of Hakalau.
Police said Rosol was the driver of a 1999 Chevrolet pickup that apparently crossed the center line and collided with a Hilo-bound 2005 Cadillac Escalade. The crash occurred on the Hanawi Bridge on Highway 19 about eight miles north of Hilo.
The driver of the Cadillac, Miles T. Nakanishi, 61, of Hilo also died at the scene. Nakanish was a former educator at Hilo High School and owner of Uncle Miles Kitchen, a food concessionaire at Hilo International Airport.
The four passengers in the Escalade were initially taken to Hilo Medical Center.
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Two of those, a 6-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, were transported in critical condition to hospitals in Honolulu. The others, a 60-year-old woman and an 80-year-old woman, remained at the Hilo hospital in serious condition, police said.
Police said it not yet known whether speed, alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash.
Highway 19 was closed for several hours following the crash reported at 7:21 p.m. Traffic was detoured onto the Onomea Scenic Route.
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The fatalities brought the death toll on Big Island roadways to 35 for the year, compared to 16 at this point in 2011.
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