Speed is believed to have played a role in a head-on crash early Wednesday morning in Lahaina that killed three people.

Maui police said the collision occurred around 3:08 a.m. on Honoapiilani Highway about 341 feet south of Kikowaena Way in Lahaina, across from the shoreline Wahikuli Wayside Park.

A preliminary investigation revealed that a gold 2007 Ford Escape was traveling north on the highway at a “high rate of speed,” according to police, when it crossed the center line and collided with a southbound gray 2016 Kia Soul, leaving both vehicles mangled and a stretch of debris strewn on the roadway.

The Ford Escape caught fire and was engulfed in flames. The Maui Fire Department quickly arrived and extinguished the fire. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Kia Soul, an 81-year-old man, and his 75-year-old female passenger also died at the scene. Both were from Lahaina, police said.

The identities of all three killed in the crash are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Honoapiilani Highway, the main highway through West Maui, was closed for approximately six hours and traffic rerouted onto other roads as police investigated the deadly crash. The highway reopened around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Toxicology tests will determine whether alcohol or drugs were involved. Maui police added that the Kia Soul driver was wearing a seat belt but his passenger was not. It’s not clear whether the other driver was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.

The airbags in both vehicles deployed, police said.

The three deaths brought Maui County’s traffic fatality toll to 11 so far this year, compared with 13 at the same time last year.

During a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Maui Police Department Traffic Division Lt. Kenneth Kihata reminded the public that August is Pedestrian Safety Month in Hawaii and to “drive with aloha, don’t drink and drive, put down your cellphones and slow down.”

He also reminded pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings and to cross the street at designated crosswalks.

Four of this year’s 11 traffic deaths in Maui County were pedestrians, two others were bicyclists and one involved a person on a scooter.

Prior to Wednesday’s crash, the most recent traffic fatality in Maui County occurred Friday when a 59-year-old bicyclist died after being struck by a pickup truck in Kahului. Speed is also believed to be a factor in that collision.

According to the state Department of Transportation, which has data up to July 27, there have been 47 traffic fatalities statewide.

The number of traffic fatalities was relatively high in 2022, with 117 reported that year — the highest total since 2018. Maui County had 18 fatalities in 2022.