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Police reopened all lanes of Kamehameha Highway in the Kahaluu area Friday evening following a fatal accident that slowed and redirected traffic flow for about eight hours.
A tractor-trailer was hauling a 3,500-gallon tank in the Kahuku direction when it detached and apparently caused a collision involving a sport utility vehicle and a pickup truck, Honolulu fire spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said.
The pickup truck’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
None of the four people in the SUV were injured, Jenkins said. The driver of the tractor-trailer also was unhurt in the accident, which occurred near Waiahole Homestead Road.
Paramedics responding to a report of a crash shortly before 10 a.m. were initially unable to get to the accident scene to treat the victim because of live electrical wires, officials said.
Police closed the highway in both directions from Pulama Road in Kahaluu to Kualoa Regional Park. By midafternoon, northbound traffic was backed up to Ahuimanu Place.
Five Windward Oahu public schools kept students on campus until the road reopened and parents, guardians and school buses were able to pick them up.
The highway closure affected access to King Intermediate, Castle High, Ahuimanu Elementary, Waiahole Elementary and Heeia Elementary.
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