Lihu‘e man dies in traffic crash

KOLOA — Kaua‘i marked its third traffic fatality of 2024 when a 33-year-old resident of Lihu‘e suffered fatal injuries during a single vehicle traffic incident on Friday night.

According to a preliminary Kaua‘i Police Department report, at approximately 10 p.m. on March 8, a 1991 Dodge truck with two occupants was traveling northbound on Maluhia Road when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.

First responders arriving on the scene discovered the vehicle overturned on the side of the southbound roadway shoulder. The driver of the vehicle, identified as the 33-year-old Lihu‘e resident, suffered fatal injuries in the collision with the tree.

The second vehicle occupant, identified as a 32-year-old female resident of Lihu‘e, was treated at the scene by medics for nonlife-threatening injuries and transported to the Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu‘e for further treatment. She was later released from the hospital.

During the on-scene investigation by the KPD Traffic Safety Section, Maluhia Road was closed in both directions for approximately three hours. The investigation remains ongoing following the suspicion that speed and impairment appear to be factors in the traffic incident.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is urged to call Officer Himogala at 808-241-1617. Those wishing to remain anonymous can provide information by calling Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i at 808-246-8300, submitting a tip at cskauai.org or through the Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i P3 Tips Mobil App.