Pohakuloa Training Area Fire and Rescue and Hawaii County Fire Department responded Tuesday morning during rush hour to a vehicle rollover on Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road.
The driver was alone in the vehicle, which rolled about 100 feet off the pavement into the brush between the 36 and 37 mile markers. The driver, who was not identified, was extracted using the jaws-of-life and taken by county helicopter to Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea. No statement of condition was given.
The cross-island highway had to be shut down initially during rush-hour traffic and was partially shut down for more than two hours.
The Hawaii Police Department reported shortly after 10:30 a.m. that the highway was fully reopened.
“This was a seamless response between the two fire departments and is testimony to all the first responders here on Hawaii Island,” said PTA Fire Chief Eric Moller.