KILAUEA – Police have arrested the driver involved in a fatal traffic crash in Kilauea Tuesday night. James Monroe, 51, of Kilauea, was arrested Wednesday morning for negligent injury and negligent homicide. He was released today from police custody pending
KILAUEA – Police have arrested the driver involved in a fatal traffic crash in Kilauea Tuesday night.
James Monroe, 51, of Kilauea, was arrested Wednesday morning for negligent injury and negligent homicide. He was released today from police custody pending an investigation.
Monroe was the driver of the Ford pickup truck that struck and killed a Kilauea man at 7:25 p.m. along Kuhio Highway in Kilauea, just south of Wailapa Road.
According to police, the northbound Ford apparently crossed the center line and sideswiped a southbound Jeep SUV before crashing into a Dodge SUV.
The head-on collision caused the Dodge SUV to overturn, resulting in fatal injuries to the 29-year-old male driver.
Police have not yet released his identity.
The passenger in the Dodge, a 55-year-old Kilauea man, was initially taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, then flown to Queen’s Hospital in Honolulu where he remains in critical condition.
A 50-year-old female driver of the Jeep SUV, of Kilauea, was transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital and has since been released.
Monroe was also treated at Wilcox Memorial Hospital following the crash. He was arrested upon his release from the hospital early Wednesday morning.
The fatal traffic crash resulted in a six-hour closure of Kuhio Highway. The highway was reopened in both directions at around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
This is the first traffic fatality on Kauai in 2014.
