A 59‑year‑old Tongan man has died following a traffic accident on Hawaiʻi Island after being struck by a vehicle while assisting with a tyre change on the roadside.
Police said the incident occurred at about 1.22pm on Sunday on Kawaihae Road (Highway 19), near the 65‑mile marker in South Kohala. Officers responding to the scene found that a black 2008 BMW sedan travelling eastbound had veered onto the shoulder and collided with a parked gold 2004 Toyota Camry.
The Toyota was unoccupied at the time but had been stopped on the shoulder facing east. Three people were outside the vehicle on the passenger side changing a front tyre when the collision occurred.
The victim, identified by police as Sione Tilini of Waimea, is believed to have been positioned between and partially underneath the passenger‑side wheels of the Toyota when it was struck. The impact caused the parked vehicle to fall onto him.
Tilini was taken to Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2.47pm.
Two other individuals—a 19‑year‑old and an 11‑year‑old—sustained minor injuries after being struck when the Toyota was pushed forward by the impact. Both were treated at hospital and later released.
The driver and sole occupant of the BMW, a 22‑year‑old Waimea man, was also transported to hospital and remains in critical condition.
Police said the driver was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide, negligent injury, driving without a licence, driving without insurance, and operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. A negligent homicide investigation has been launched.
Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash or has information relevant to the investigation to contact Officer Dayson Taniguchi of the Hawaiʻi Police Department.
The death marks the fourth traffic fatality on Hawaiʻi Island within five days. Earlier this month, two men died in a two‑vehicle collision on Daniel K. Inouye Highway, and a woman was killed in a separate crash on Highway 11 in Hilo.
Sunday’s incident brings the total number of traffic fatalities on Hawaiʻi Island to nine so far this year, compared with 12 at the same time last year.
