Honolulu, HI : Three people die in a two car crash on Hawaii Island on May, Wednesday, 17th 2017

Three people die in a two car crash on Hawaii Island. It is the second fiery Big Island fatal accident caught on camera in four days.

Drivers on Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway early Wednesday morning saw a plume of smoke around mile maker 92 near the Kona airport.The smoke came from the collision between a Nissan Titan and a Toyota 4Runner.

According to police, the driver of the 4Runner was speeding and passing vehicles as he traveled North, but after one pass lost control of his vehicle and slammed into the Titan.
The crash caused the vehicles to erupt into flames.
The driver of the Nissan along with the driver and passenger of the 4 Runner all died in the accident, as bystanders were unable to help them from the burning wreckage.

"It was sad. Three people losing their lives and no one could get close to the car. It was on fire and they couldn't help them," said Ma Elena Armenta, who posted video of the accident to Facebook.

Bystanders also tried to put out the flames and rescue the Kea'au man trapped inside his burning car in Sunday evening's crash, but were unsuccessful.

Fire fighters train to assist in car crashes and know when it is safe to respond, but Capt. David Jenkins with the Honolulu Fire Department says bystanders rushing into help can put themselves in danger, "Besides the obvious hazard of the fire itself, within the vehicle or parts of the vehicle itself may explode and cause shrapnel or other hazards to the people there. Bystanders may not have the proper training, protective equipment and could become a victims themselves. We recommend if someone comes across a vehicle fire, they should call 911."

Hawaii County police officers have opened a negligent homicide investigation and are looking into whether the 4Runner was involved in any other accidents before the deadly crash.
Autopsies have been ordered to determine the exact cause of death. Because the fire after the crash, it will be used to also positively identify everyone in the accident.

The video posted to Facebook was a sobering reminder to other drivers of the potential hazards on Big Island roads.

"Just posted it so people can drive safe. We wanted to make sure this doesn't happen again and everyone drives safely," said Armenta.

One person survived the accident, a 32 year old woman, who was a passenger in the Nissan Titan. She was critically injured and taken to the Kona Community Hospital.

Source :
Three die in fiery Big Island collision