In the dark early hours of Tuesday morning, a 24-year-old woman was ejected and left critically injured after her car rolled and burst into flames on Kunia Road in the Kunia area of Waipahu. Honolulu police officers pulled her from the wreckage just before the vehicle became engulfed, and she was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
The Honolulu Police Department says the single-vehicle crash happened at about 1:25 a.m. on Kunia Road south of Kunia Drive, when a southbound car crossed into the northbound lane, left the roadway and slammed into several rock boulders and a cattle gate before flipping multiple times. Officers were able to extract the driver at the scene; the vehicle then continued forward into an open field where it ignited. At this time, speed and alcohol appear to be contributing factors and the investigation remains active, according to the Honolulu Police Department.
Injuries and response
Emergency Medical Services crews responded to the crash and, according to KITV, arrived at about 1:46 a.m. Paramedics treated the driver for multiple injuries, including a severe arm wound, before transporting her to a hospital, where she was later listed in critical condition, Hawaii News Now reported.
What police say
Police noted that the woman was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision, a factor they say likely contributed to her being ejected and suffering such severe injuries. The HPD Traffic Division's Vehicular Homicide Section is handling the investigation and has not released the driver's name or said whether charges will be sought, per the Honolulu Police Department.
Kunia Road's safety record
The crash is the latest in a string of serious incidents on Kunia Road, a busy Oʻahu corridor where officials have increasingly warned about speeding and unsafe driving. In December, a head-on crash on the same stretch killed a motorcyclist and helped prompt calls for lower speed limits and more enforcement, Hawaii News Now reported.
Investigators ask anyone who witnessed the crash or who may have dash-cam or surveillance video to contact HPD’s Traffic Division at (808) 723-3413. The investigation is ongoing and police say they will release more information when it becomes available.
