A 26-year-old Keaau man police say is responsible for the fiery hit-and-run collision that killed another man Sunday night has a history of traffic citations for speeding.
Police say Keempe Drequito was driving a 2003 Mazda sedan south on Keaau-Pahoa Highway (Highway 130) that rear-ended a 1990 Toyota pickup at the Shower Drive/Pohaku Drive intersection at about 8:40 p.m.
The driver of the pickup, whose name has not been released by police, was dead at the scene, according to the Fire Department.
Drequito fled the scene on foot, police said. He was located a short time later and arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and DUI. He was being detained at the Hilo police cellblock Monday afternoon while officers continued to investigate.
The collision closed Highway 130, the main artery in and out of lower Puna, for almost eight hours.
According to court records, Drequito was cited five times between 2010 and 2015 for speeding or driving too fast for conditions.
On Aug. 27, 2010, Drequito was ticketed in South Kohala for driving 65 mph in a 50-mph zone. He pleaded no contest to two counts of driving without required mud guards for the vehicle and paid $144 in fines and fees. The speeding citation was dismissed.
On Dec. 24, 2011, Drequito was cited in Puna for reckless driving, exhibition of speed or acceleration and driving 30-plus mph over the speed limit. He pleaded no contest to the exhibition of speed or acceleration and paid $297 in fines and fees, with the other charges being dropped as part of a deal with prosecutors. In a separate case on the same day, he paid $485 in fines for driving too fast for conditions, running a stop sign, driving without headlights, driving on the left side of the road and not making a required turn signal.
On Jan. 21, 2014, Drequito was pulled over in Puna for speeding in a school or construction zone and paid a $250 fine. Records indicate he was driving 56 mph in a 35-mph zone.
And on Jan. 31, 2015, Drequito was cited in Puna for driving 55 mph in a 45-mph zone and paid $107 in fines.
The Puna fatality was the 12th traffic death for the year compared to 10 at this time in 2016 — and the second in what proved a deadly Mother’s Day on Hawaii Island highways.
Neither police nor the Army have identified the 36-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier who died Sunday in West Hawaii when a tractor-trailer truck hauling a piece of heavy equipment crashed into a guardrail and overturned into a culvert at the intersection of Daniel K. Inouye Highway (Saddle Road) and Mamalahoa Highway (Highway 190) shortly before 7:30 a.m.
Police say the driver, a 20-year-old soldier, lost control of the big rig as it descended westbound on the Saddle and then attempted to negotiate a left turn onto Highway 190, but was unable to do so.
“The accident is still under investigation. We’ll update you with more information as it becomes available,” Army Master Sgt. Pete Mayes said Monday.
The victim, a front-seat passenger in the truck, was pronounced dead at 12:35 p.m. at Kona Community Hospital.
The driver was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea for treatment. He was listed Sunday in stable condition.
Police originally estimated the intersection would be closed about five hours, but it wasn’t until 11:16 p.m. Sunday that a public message was sent saying the road was reopened.
“The road closure was much longer than anticipated due to the complexity of the issues that the accident caused as well as the many agencies involved,” the police statement said.
The death is only the second on the Saddle since the newer portions were completed in 2013, and both involved tractor-trailers.
Troy K. Pattioay, 31, of Keaau was killed Nov. 29, 2013, when the brakes failed on a 1987 Kenworth utility tractor pulling an unloaded trailer just before the 51-mile marker and lost control of the vehicle, causing the trailer to break free and the tractor to roll over.
Police opened a negligent homicide investigation into Sunday’s Kona crash, and witnesses are asked to call Officer Christopher Kapua-Allison at 326-4646, ext. 229.
Witnesses to the Puna crash are asked to call Officer Erhard Autrata at 961-8118.
Those with information about either collision who prefer anonymity can call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
