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Updated: Infant dies in Kona traffic accident Saturday (May 23)


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UPDATED MEDIA RELEASE (6/1/09)

20090601_knittlesThe Hawai’i Police Department is still seeking 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.

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 for manslaughter, operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, reckless driving and inattention to driving. Her passenger, Mark Knittle, 50, also of Captain Cook, was arrested for negligent homicide but was later released without charges.

Police believe that speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.

Police ask that anyone who saw the crash or who saw Kaleohano-Knittle and Knittle earlier on the afternoon of May 23 call Officer Marvin Troutman at 326-4646, extension 229.

UPDATED MEDIA RELEASE (5/29/09)

Police traffic investigators have located a witness who identified himself only as “Lambert” at the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Kuakini Highway and Lako Street on Saturday (May 23). The crash claimed the life of a 1-year-old girl.

Police also wish to thank the public for coming forward and providing information on the crash.

Police ask that any additional witnesses to the crash call Officer Marvin Troutman at 326-4646, extension 229, or the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.

UPDATED: MEDIA RELEASE (5/26/09)

Police traffic investigators are asking that a witness who identified himself only as “Lambert” at the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Kuakini Highway and Lako Street on Saturday (May 23) call police. The crash claimed the life of a 1-year-old girl.

Police ask that any witnesses to the crash call Officer Marvin Troutman at 326-4646, extension 229, or the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.

UPDATED: MEDIA RELEASE (5/26/09)

A 1-year-old Captain Cook girl died Saturday (May 23) from injuries she sustained in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway and Lako Street in Kailua-Kona.

The child was identified as Aliyah Braden of a Captain Cook address.

Responding to a 7:29 p.m. call, Kona patrol officers determined that a 49-year-old woman was operating a 2004 Toyota pickup truck and traveling south on Kuakini Highway when the vehicle 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.

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 was pronounced dead 8:23 p.m. The child was in a car seat in the back seat of the Honda.

The driver of the Honda, who was wearing a seat belt, was listed in critical condition. She was to be flown to The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu.

The driver of the Toyota, Valereen P. Kaleohano-Knittle of Captain Cook, was arrested for manslaughter, operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, reckless driving and inattention to driving. She is being held at the Kealakehe police station cellblock pending further investigation.

A passenger in the Toyota, Mark Knittle, 50, also of Captain Cook, was arrested for negligent homicide but was later released without charges.

Police believe that speed and alcohol were factors in this crash.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Police ask that anyone with information about this case call Officer Marvin Troutman at 326-4646, extension 229.

MEDIA RELEASE (5/24/09)

Fire/Rescue crews responded to a 7:28 p.m. alarm Saturday (May 23) for an accident at the intersection of Kuakini Highway and Lako Street involving a pick-up truck and Honda Civic.

Upon arrival crews from the Kailua-Kona, Keauhou and Captain Cook fire stations found a critically injured woman in her 20’s and a critically injured female infant trapped in the wreckage of the sedan. The woman and infant were extricated from the sedan and were transported to Kona Community Hospital. The infant died at the hospital while the woman was still in critical condition according to the Fire Dispatch report Saturday night.

The occupants of the pick-up truck were uninjured. Traffic was detoured to Alii Drive and the last fire/rescue units were back in quarters by 11 p.m. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

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