An 18-year-old Keaau man was killed and three other teens were injured early Saturday morning in a one-car traffic crash just north of the Hilo Korean Christian Church in Keaau.
Police identified the man, who was a passenger in the car, as Albert Gonsalves.
Officers responding to a 3:59 a.m. call determined that an 18-year-old man driving a 2011 Toyota four-door sedan north on Volcano Highway (Route 11) crossed the centerline, ran off the road and hit a utility pole and fence near the highway’s 9-mile marker.
The driver, identified in a police log as Eric-John Semana of Keaau, and three passengers, all 18, were taken by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center, police said.
One passenger was transferred to The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu and another underwent surgery at Hilo Medical Center.
Gonsalves was pronounced dead at 7:08 a.m. at Hilo Medical Center.
According to the log, Semana suffered “non-incapacitating” injuries. He was admitted to the hospital with internal injuries, police said.
Police said none of the car’s four occupants were wearing seat belts and it’s believed speed and drug use were factors in the crash.
Negligent homicide and negligent injury investigations were opened, according to a police log.
Gonsalves’ death is the second official traffic fatality on the Big Island in 2016, compared to one on the same date last year, but a fiery head-on collision that killed three teenagers occurred on Queen Kaahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona on Valentine’s Day 2015.
Police said alcohol and drug use were factors in that collision.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
