Elderly woman critically injured in Hilo traffic crash dies

An 86-year-old Hilo woman critically injured in a single-vehicle crash at the end of January in Hilo has died.

Hawai‘i Police Department identified the woman as Yvonne Mira. She died just before 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.

An autopsy was ordered to determine her exact cause of death.

Mira was the front seat passenger in a 2007 Honda Pilot multi-purpose vehicle that veered to the right and into a ditch just before 5 p.m. Jan. 30 off Kaʻūmana Drive as it was traveling west. The vehicle then struck a rock embankment, causing it to completely stop and block the westbound lane.

Multiple witnesses were interviewed at the scene by Hawai‘i Police Department personnel.

Mira was unresponsive at the scene. Hawai‘i Fire Department rescue personnel arrived and extricated her from the vehicle at which time she began to respond physically but not verbally.

She was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center and subsequently transported to The Queen’s Hospital.

The driver of the Honda Pilot, 84-year-old Ken Rosene, was also transported to the Hilo hospital, where he received treatment for his injury and discharged.

Rosene was then arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and first-degree negligent injury. He was released from custody the afternoon of Jan. 31, pending investigation.

The probe into the crash was changed to a negligent homicide investigation because of Mira’s death.

Hawai‘i Police Department’s East Hawai‘i Traffic Enforcement Unit continues to investigate.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Officer Laurence Davis at 808-961-2339 or via email at Laurence.Davis@hawaiicounty.gov.

Those who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.

Mira is the sixth traffic fatality in 2025 on the Big Island. That’s already two more fatalities than the four reported by this time last year.