19-Year-Old Dies in Single-Vehicle Crash

A 19-year-old Na‘alehu woman died following a single-vehicle collision Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, in Kaʻū near the 58-mile marker of Hawai’i Belt Road (Highway 11).

She has been identified as Brittney Perry.

Responding to an 11:48 p.m. call, police determined that a silver 2002 Honda Accord sedan had been traveling North on Hawaiʻi Belt Road near the 58-mile marker when the vehicle ran off the roadway into the northbound gravel shoulder and then struck a utility pole head-on.

The operator, who was the sole occupant within the vehicle, was unresponsive at the scene and was later transported to the Hilo Medical Center where she was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m.

Police believe inattention was a factor in this crash, but it is not immediately known if alcohol or drugs were a factor.

An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

The Traffic Enforcement Unit has initiated a Coroner’s Inquest investigation and is asking for anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact Officer Kimo Keliipaakaua at (808) 326-4646, ext. 229.

This is the 23rd traffic fatality this year compared with 26 at this time last year.