(BIVN) – Two more people have died on the cross-island Daniel K. Inouye Highway, after a head-on collision Friday afternoon.
The deaths mark the fifth and sixth traffic fatalities on Hawai‘i Island in the past 10 days, police say, and the second double-fatality within a 13-mile stretch of Daniel K. Inouye Highway during that time. The number of traffic deaths on Hawaiʻi island in 2026 is now up to 11, compared with 12 traffic fatalities at the same time last year.
A police news release details the Friday crash:
Police determined that a 2018 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was traveling westbound (Kona-bound) when the driver lost control while negotiating a curve on the wet highway. The pickup crossed the centerline and collided head-on with an eastbound (Hilo-bound) 2008 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck that was towing a trailer carrying a Kubota mini excavator.
The front seat passenger in the Tacoma, identified as 29-year-old Troy Rasse of Pāhoa, and a rear-seat passenger in the Tacoma, identified as 24-year-old Jadelyn Cariaga of Hilo, were both found unresponsive at the scene. Through the investigation, police determined neither passenger was wearing a seat belt. Both were pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m. Autopsies have been ordered to determine the exact causes of death.
The driver of the Tacoma, a 21-year-old man from Paʻauilo, was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where he is being treated for his injuries and is listed in stable condition.
A rear driver-side passenger in the Tacoma, a 26-year-old woman from Hilo, and the driver of the Dodge, a 43-year-old Hilo man, were transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center before being medevacked to The Queen’s Medical Center for further treatment.
A front-seat passenger in the Dodge, a 42-year-old Hilo man, was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries and later released.
Weather conditions are believed to have been a contributing factor in the crash. Daniel K. Inouye Highway was closed in both directions during the investigation but has since reopened.
Police say the Area I Traffic Enforcement Unit is continuing the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Jerome Duarte at (808) 961-2339 or via email at Jerome.Duarte@hawaiipolice.gov. Tipsters may also call the department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.
Police also say “many traffic fatalities are preventable and urge motorists to drive responsibly by wearing seat belts, obeying speed limits, and adjusting for hazardous weather conditions.”
