A 24-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman died Tuesday from injuries suffered when they were thrown from a car on Queen Kaahumanu Highway in North Kona.

The driver was identified as Michelle K. Deluz, a resident of Waikoloa, the passenger as Gary J. Fergerstrom of Kailua-Kona.

Excessive speed was a factor in the crash that occurred just before 2:29 p.m. Hawaii County police said.

Kona police said Deluz was driving south at the 79-mile marker when she lost control of the 2007 Honda sedan, which crossed the centerline and ran off the left side of the road and rolled into a lava field.

Neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing  seat belts and were thrown from the vehicle.

Deluz was pronounced dead at the scene. Fergerstrom was flown by fire department helicopter to North Hawaii Community Hospital, where he died at 3:34 p.m.

The deaths were the 14th and 15th on Hawaii island this year, compared with 14 at the same time last year.

In another accident Tuesday, a head-on collision in Waimea left both drivers in critical condition.

The accident occurred at about 6:25 p.m. on Kawaihae Road near Anekona Road. A fire official said one driver was in his 70s and the other was in his 20s.