A 40-year-old woman who died after a single-vehicle crash on Tuesday in South Kona has been identified as Denise Scott of Ocean View.
At 10:16 p.m. Tuesday, Scott was traveling south on Mamalahoa Highway Route 11 in a 2006 Nissan pickup truck when the vehicle veered off the roadway and struck a large tree, according to Hawaii County police.
Scott was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Speed and inattention are believed to be factors in the crash, police said. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.
This is the 25th traffic-related fatality this year on the Big Island, compared with 16 at the same time last year.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Officer Kimo Keliipaakaua at 326-4646 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.
5 Pahoa residents displaced after blaze damages home
A fire charred a Pahoa home Wednesday.
The blaze occurred shortly after 4 a.m. at a home on Kamaili Road. When 12 firefighters arrived, the residence was engulfed in flames. They brought the fire under control at 4:45 a.m. and extinguished it by 5:30 a.m., according to the Hawaii County Fire Department.
No one was home at the time of the fire.
The American Red Cross responded to assist five residents who were displaced by the fire,, but Battalion Chief Mike Hayashida said the residents declined assistance.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage to the structure and its contents is estimated at $6,000.
