Head-on collision in Waikōloa claims lives of 2 elderly women, including a Big Island resident

Two women in their 70s are dead and two other elderly men injured after a head-on collision late the morning of March 30 in Waikōloa.

Officers with the Hawai‘i Police Department responding to an 11:39 a.m. call determined a blue 2020 Kia Soul was near the 3-mile marker on Waikōloa Road heading east when it crossed the center line and struck a silver 2024 Chevrolet Blazer that was traveling west.

Lynn Capell of Waimea, the 72-year-old driver of the Kia, was transported to Queen’s North Hawai’i Community Hospital in Waimea where she was pronounced dead at 3:17 p.m.

A backseat passenger of the Chevrolet, 79-year-old Eugenia Taylor of Alabama, was unresponsive at the scene and transported to Kona Community Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m.

A 75-year-old man from Washington who was driving the Chevrolet and a 72-year-old man from Alabama who was riding in the front seat were also transported to Queen’s North Hawai’i Community Hospital for further treatment.

A third vehicle, a silver 2023 Chevrolet Equinox, veered off the road onto lava rock to avoid the crash. The four people inside were uninjured but the vehicle was rendered inoperable.

Police think speed and inattention are factors in the crash. A coroner’s inquest investigation was initiated and autopsies were ordered to determine the exact causes of death.

The crash also resulted in the portion of Waikōloa Road where it happened to be closed for several hours Saturday.

Anyone who might have witnessed the crash is asked to contact Officer Ansel Robinson at 808-326-4646, ext. 229, or via email at [email protected]. Tipsters who want to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.

The deaths of the two women are the Big Island’s 13th and 14th traffic fatalities so far this year compared to 5 during the same time period in 2023.

They also mark the second and third traffic fatalities on Big Island roads within 12 hours and the sixth and seventh traffic fatalities of March.