Husband and wife die following 2-car crash in West Hawai‘i

A married couple from Waimea was killed in a two-vehicle crash Tuesday morning in West Hawai‘i.

Hawai‘i Island police responded to the collision at 5:41 a.m. on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway near the Kiholo Bay lookout in North Kona. Through the course of their investigation, officers learned that a silver 2021 Kia Forte sedan traveling south was attempting to overtake multiple vehicles, including a tractor-trailer carrying a full tank of fuel, when it collided head-on with a northbound brown 2004 Nissan Frontier pickup truck near the 79.5-mile marker.

According to police, the Kia sedan was being driven by 51-year-old Reginald Kaleilehua Tolentino Jr. His passenger and wife, Colette Marie Kaleialoha Tolentino, 55, were transported to Kona Community Hospital, where they were pronounced dead at 10:48 a.m.

The 55-year-old male driver of the Nissan pickup suffered life-threatening injuries in the collision and was transported to North Hawai‘i Community Hospital for initial treatment. He was ultimately flown to Queen’s Medical Center on O‘ahu for further care.

The Area II Traffic Enforcement Unit has initiated a major traffic collision investigation and is asking anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact Officer Adam Roberg at 808-326-4646, ext. 229, or email at adam.roberg@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.

This is the sixth and seventh traffic fatality this year compared to four at this time last year.