2 People Arrested After Single-Car Crash on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway

Two people were arrested this morning after a one-vehicle crash on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway near the Palani Road intersection.

Hawai‘i Police Department initially received a report about a reckless driver at approximately 7:47 a.m. According to authorities, the driver was headed south toward Kona on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway.

“It was reported that the car was traveling at a high rate of speed and then ‘brake checking’ other drivers, and at one point had driven off the highway in the Waikoloa area,” according to an HPD press release Friday afternoon.

It was determined that the vehicle had been stolen in Hilo on Dec. 9. Officers attempted to locate the vehicle, which was first spotted near the Keāhole airport heading toward Kona. Police attempted to make a traffic stop at Kaiminani Drive, however, the driver continued to flee south on the highway.

“The vehicle crossed the median at Hulikoa Drive and began traveling against the flow of traffic on the shoulder,” the release stated. “The vehicle nearly struck an on-duty officer traveling north on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway near the Hina Lani Street.”

The vehicle continued to travel against the flow of traffic on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway until Kaloko Honokōhau National Historical Park. It then detoured police reported, through the Kona Light Industrial area before continuing south on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway where the driver crashed near the Palani Road intersection.

Two men, the driver and a front-seat passenger fled the vehicle while a woman in the back seat remained in the vehicle.

The front-seat passenger, identified as 35-year-old Nicolas Kahele of Hilo, and the back-seat passenger, 28-year-old Akaysha Tripp-Carvalho of Waimea, were arrested for unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.

The investigation is ongoing at this time.