KULA, Maui >> Maui police believe excessive speed and alcohol were factors in a head-on crash that killed five people who were ejected from a Dodge Neon that crossed the center line of Kula Highway in Upcountry Maui on Sunday.
Police continue to investigate whether drugs also may have been a factor, said Maui police Lt. Wayne Ibarra.
The dead passengers were identified as Remington T. Redwell, 20, of Lahaina; Steven R. Shaw, 20, of Lahaina; Annastachia Cruz-Kalua, 19, of Pukalani; Ambrose Momoa, 20, of Waiehu; and Karl Barrack, 20, of Pukalani. All died at the scene except Barrack, who was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
The sixth occupant of the Dodge Neon, the driver, a 21-year-old Pukalani man, was the lone survivor in the car and had to be removed by Maui firefighters, Ibarra said. He was the only one wearing a seat belt, police said.
His condition was unknown Sunday but police called his injuries “serious.”
The crash was reported at 6:30 a.m. and occurred just north of Noholoa Place.
The blue 1998 Dodge Neon was heading north on Kula Highway toward Pukalani when it spun out of control and crossed the double-solid center lines and crashed into a blue 2003 Suzuki Aerio driven by a 46-year-old Pukalani man, police said. That driver was treated at Maui Memorial and released.
The Aerio driver’s wife, 47, who was in the passenger seat, and another Pukalani woman, 55, who was in the back, were also taken to the hospital, where the second woman remained in stable condition Sunday, police said.
The force of the impact sliced the Neon into pieces. The front half came to rest along the guardrail, while the rear half ended up in brush off the west shoulder of the highway 185 feet away, police said.
“Any time, especially with speed as a factor in any accident, you’re going to have some damages and potential injuries,” Ibarra remarked.
The deaths raised Maui’s traffic fatality toll so far this year to 10, compared with three at the same time last year.
“This is a holiday weekend,” Ibarra said. “We still have another day in the holiday, so we just request that people drive more carefully and respect each other on the road. And drive with aloha.”
Today is Kuhio Day.
