Police Investigating Fatal Two-Vehicle Collision on Panaewa Stretch of Highway 11

Hawai‘i Island police are investigating a fatal two-vehicle collision that occurred Friday morning, May 8, 2026, on the Panaewa stretch of Highway 11 near the intersection with Mamaki Street in Hilo that claimed the life of a Puna woman.

Officers responding to a 7:08 a.m. call determined that a 2017 Honda Accord four-door sedan was traveling eastbound on Mamaki Street (headed makai) and attempting to cross Highway 11 when it failed to yield to a 2012 Toyota Tacoma traveling southbound toward Kea‘au on Highway 11. The Toyota struck the Honda.

The female driver of the Honda, identified as 32-year-old Michaelah Turner of Kurtistown, was found unresponsive at the scene and transported to the Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 8:35 a.m. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

A 13-year-old male passenger in the Honda, also from Kurtistown, was transported to the Hilo Benioff Medical Center and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Toyota, a 17-year-old Hilo female, and her passenger, a 15-year-old Hilo female, were transported by private vehicle to the Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where they are being treated for minor injuries.

The Hawai‘i Police Department’s East Hawaii Traffic Enforcement Unit responded to the scene and is continuing the investigation, which has been classified as a coroner’s inquest. At this time, police do not believe alcohol and/or drugs are factors in the crash.

Police ask that if anyone has information regarding this collision to please contact Officer Joshua Rodby-Tomas at (808) 961-2339 or via email at Joshua.Rodby-Tomas@hawaiicounty.gov. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.

This is the 3rd traffic fatality this week and the 8th traffic fatality of 2026, compared to 12 traffic fatalities this time last year.