UPDATE: Hilo man, Virginia man die following head-on collision on Daniel K. Inouye Highway

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:40 p.m. May 5, 2026.

A 70-year-old Hilo man and 34-year-old man from Virginia died Tuesday morning, May 5, as the result of a head-on collision near the 26-mile marker on Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road.

Hawai‘i Police Department South Hilo Patrol officers, along with personnel from Hawai‘i Fire Department and Pōhakuloa Fire and Emergency Services, responded at about 11 a.m. Tuesday to a report of the head-on collision between a sedan and multi-purpose vehicle.

Police determined a Hilo-bound 2011 Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan was attempting to pass a vehicle ahead of it and struck a Kona-bound 2016 Hyundai Tucson multi-purpose vehicle head-on.

Medical personnel upon their arrival immediately began life-saving measures on the 34-year-old Virginia man who was driving the Hyundai truck, but their efforts were unsuccessful as the man succumbed to his injuries and pronounced dead at 11:38 a.m.

His identity is being withheld pending notification of his family.

The 70-year-old man driving the Toyota sedan, identified as Todd Matsushita of Hilo, was located unresponsive at the scene.

Matsushita was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 12:28 p.m.

Autopsies are ordered to determine the exact causes of death for both men. Police think speed and reckless driving contributed to the fatal crash.

The deadly crash caused the closure of a portion of Daniel K. Inouye Highway, in the vicinity of the 26-mile marker, for about an hour.

Police confirmed early Tuesday afternoon 2 people died because of the crash; however, no further information was available until just after 8 p.m.

Hawai‘i Police Department Area I Traffic Enforcement Unit continues to investigate the collision.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Officer Laurence Davis at 808-961-2391 or via email at Laurence.Davis@hawaiipolice.gov. People with information also can call the department’s non-emergency line at 808-935-3311.

The deaths are the 6th and 7th traffic fatalities of 2026 on Hawai‘i Island.