Hawaiʻi police investigate two-car collision that resulted in third traffic fatality this week

Hawai‘i Island police are investigating a fatal two-vehicle collision that occurred Friday, May 8, on the Panaʻewa stretch of Highway 11 near the intersection with Māmakī Street in Hilo. The crash claimed the life of a Puna woman.

Officers responding to a 7:08 a.m. call determined that a 2017 Honda Accord sedan was traveling eastbound on Māmakī Street and attempting to cross Highway 11 when it failed to yield to a 2012 Toyota Tacoma traveling southbound toward Keaʻau.

The Toyota struck the Honda, and the 32-year-old female driver of the Honda, identified as Michaela Turner of Kurtistown, was found unresponsive at the scene and transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center. She was pronounced dead at 8:35 a.m., and an autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

A 13-year-old male passenger in the Honda, also from Kurtistown, was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Toyota, a 17-year-old female from Hilo, and her passenger, a 15-year-old female from Hilo, were transported by private vehicle to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where they are being treated for minor injuries.

The Hawaiʻi Police Department’s East Hawaiʻi Traffic Enforcement Unit responded to the scene and is continuing the investigation, which has been classified as a coroner’s inquest. At this time, police do not believe alcohol or drugs are factors in the crash.

Police ask that if anyone has information regarding this collision, please contact Officer Joshua Rodby-Tomas at 808-961-2339 or via email at Joshua.Rodby-Tomas@hawaiicounty.gov. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.

This is the third traffic fatality this week and the eighth traffic fatality of 2026, compared to 12 traffic fatalities at this time last year.