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Hawaii County police were investigating the cause of a fatal traffic accident Thursday in which an SUV hit two vehicles, overturned and caught on fire, burning a 77-year-old Kona woman who was driving the SUV.
Police did not release the name of the victim Friday. Officers were investigating whether she was stricken by a medical condition before the crash. An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death.
No one else was injured.
Kona patrol officers said the victim was driving a 2011 Hyundai multipurpose vehicle and traveling south on Route 190 at 2:58 p.m. when she rear-ended a 2006 Toyota four-door sedan, driven by a 34-year-old Waikoloa man, at the intersection of Route 190 and Hinalani Street in Kailua-Kona.
Police said the Hyundai continued south and sideswiped a northbound 1999 Jeep vehicle driven by a 42-year-old Kailua-Kona woman.
The Hyundai hit a stop sign at the intersection of Routes 190 and 180, ran off the left side of the road, hit an embankment and overturned in the parking lot of an old nursery, police said. The Hyundai caught on fire, and the driver was burned in the vehicle.
Paramedics took the woman to Kona Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7:09 p.m.
Debris from the crash damaged a 1998 Mazda pickup truck driven by a 51-year-old Kailua-Kona man.
Anyone with information on the accident is asked to call officer Larry Flowers at 326-4646, ext. 229.
It was the 12th traffic fatality on Hawaii island this year compared with eight at this time last year.