Witnesses sought to fatal Big Island traffic crash
Advertiser Staff
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The Hawai'i Police Department continues to search for witnesses to a May 23 crash that killed a 1-year-old Captain Cook girl in Kailua-Kona.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. , 49-year-old Valereen P. Kaleohano-Knittle of Captain Cook was traveling south on Kuakini Highway in a 2004 Toyota pickup truck. She ran a red light, struck a traffic light pole and then struck a 2004 Honda four-door sedan traveling east on Lako Street and making a left turn onto Kuakini Highway, police said.
Fire Rescue personnel took the driver of the Honda, a 25-year-old Captain Cook woman, and her 1-year-old daughter to Kona Community Hospital.
The child, identified as Aliyah Braden, had been in a car seat in the back seat of the Honda. The driver of the Honda had been wearing her seat belt.
The girl was pronounced dead 8:23 p.m. The driver of the Honda was flown to The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu in critical condition.
Kaleohano-Knittle was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, reckless driving and inattention to driving., police said.
They believe that speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
Police ask that anyone who saw the crash or who saw Kaleohano-Knittle earlier on the afternoon of May 23 call Officer Marvin Troutman at 326-4646, extension 229.