Four people were killed and one injured when a small car collided with a tractor-trailer early yesterday morning in North Kona on the Big Island.

Kona patrol officers responded to the accident at 3:20 a.m. yesterday on Route 190 near the 32-mile marker on Mamalahoa Highway.

All four people in the 1992 Honda four-door — the unidentified male driver, and passengers Jaime Villamil Cortes, 30; Nabor Rosas Hernandez, 33; and an unidentified 42-year-old woman — were pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital, according to the Hawai'i Police Department. The woman was thrown from the car by the force of the collision.

Kyle Fujimoto, 50, the driver of the tractor-trailer rig, was taken to Kona Community Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and released, according to police.

The Honda was traveling south on Route 190 when it crossed the center line and collided with the 2005 International tractor-trailer, which was traveling north. Fujimoto attempted to avoid the collision by driving onto the right shoulder and the tractor-trailer burst into flames after striking an embankment.

When emergency crews arrived, the car was off the road and the tractor-trailer was ablaze, according to Hawai'i County Fire Department.

The collision and fire demolished the tractor-trailer, said Autumn Gunter, a nearby resident.

"When I got up here it was just pretty bad. There was a semi that had exploded and was in numerous pieces just scattered for, gosh, 100 yards," she said.

The names of the driver of the Honda and the woman passenger were being withheld pending notification of family.

Cortes, Hernandez and Fujimoto are all from Kailua, Kona.

According to police, alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash and the only people wearing seat belts were Fujimoto and the front seat passenger of the Honda.

Route 190 was closed to traffic for hours while officials investigated the scene. The road was later cleared by the State Highways Division and re-opened at 10:30 a.m.

The four deaths brought the number of traffic fatalities on the Big Island to 28 this year.

A negligent homicide investigation has been initiated and autopsies ordered.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.