Subscribe Now
Choose a package that suits your preferences.
Start Free Account
Get access to 7 premium stories every month for FREE!
Already a Subscriber?
Current print subscriber? Activate your complimentary Digital account.
Police say they released the driver of a vehicle that hit more than a dozen grave markers at Alae Cemetery pending further investigation.
A police spokesman said 24-year-old Caitlin Peil of Hilo was detained but released without being charged.
Peil allegedly drove off Highway 19 while in the Hamakua-bound lane and hit approximately 15 headstones on Dec. 20.
The grave markers belong to families and are not owned by the Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation, which runs the cemetery.
The department is connecting families to the driver’s insurance carrier for compensation.
A man whose family’s headstone was damaged said he’s been advised that the insurance might not cover the entire cost of replacing the markers.