Police say a 24-year-old woman from Japan who suffered critical injuries in a two-vehicle collision Wednesday on Highway 11 in Kona has been airlifted to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu for further treatment.
She was identified as Honoka Kogure of Kanagawa, Japan.
Kogure was a passenger in a white 2016 Nissan Pathfinder sport-utility vehicle driven by a 44-year-old Kailua-Kona woman. According to police, a gray 2000 Saturn station wagon traveling southbound crossed the double-solid yellow line about a mile south of Kamehameha III Road and collided head on with the SUV.
Seven people, all in the SUV, were all taken to Kona Community Hospital. All but Kogure were reported in stable condition. All but the driver, five women and a man, are all from Japan, police said. Kogure and four others in the SUV weren’t wearing seat belts, police said.
The driver of the Saturn, identified on a police log as 33-year-old Adeam Nathanial Wiggins of Kailua-Kona, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder, inattention to driving and driving without a license. He remained in custody as police continued to investigate.
Police haven’t determined if speed or alcohol are factors in the collision.
Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to call Kona Traffic Enforcement Unit at 326-4646, ext. 229 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.