A 10-year-old Honaunau girl died Wednesday after she was struck by a vehicle on Mamalahoa Highway in South Kona.
She has been identified as Janexty Kaaloa, whose family owns Kaaloa’s Super J’s Authentic Hawaiian restaurant on Mamalahoa Highway. Their home is behind the store.
The child was struck at about 1:10 p.m. as she was running across the roadway near the 106-mile marker. The vehicle that hit her was a tan 1987 Jeep pickup truck driven by a 61-year-old Captain Cook man traveling southbound on the highway (Route 11), said the Hawaii Police Department.
Jevon Kaaloa Matsuyama said her niece, who the family affectionately called “Ulu,” was walking home from school when the accident occurred, and two of her sisters rushed to her aid. An off-duty firefighter and off-duty nurse performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived.
“They were able to get a heartbeat back, and she was breathing on her own,” said Matsuyama in a message to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. But the child’s condition worsened, and she was transported to Kona Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 p.m.
An autopsy will be performed to determine Kaaloa’s exact cause of death.
The driver was released pending further investigation after police arrested him on suspicion of negligent homicide. Whether speed was a factor in the crash hasn’t been determined.
It was the 26th traffic-related fatality on Hawaii island this year compared with 16 at the same time last year.
Matsuyama said Kaaloa, a fifth-grader at Honaunau Elementary School, loved to read and watch Japanese anime. “She liked to go to the movies, to the beach, and hang out with her family and friends,” Matsuyama said.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Officer Justin Hooser at 326-4646 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
