A Kaua‘i woman suffered “potentially life-threatening injuries” following a collision Saturday afternoon between a motorcycle and a truck on Kuhio Highway outside of Hanalei Town, a Kaua‘i Fire Department official said. Battalion Chief Bob Kaden said the woman was a
A Kaua‘i woman suffered “potentially life-threatening injuries” following a collision Saturday afternoon between a motorcycle and a truck on Kuhio Highway outside of Hanalei Town, a Kaua‘i Fire Department official said.
Battalion Chief Bob Kaden said the woman was a passenger on the motorcycle, and fell off it after the impact, before 2:45 p.m.
At 7 p.m., the bridge was still closed, as KPD officers continued their investigation. Traffic was backed up in both directions for several hours.
The motorcycle was headed west on the highway when the collision occurred, and the female passenger landed in an eastbound lane and was “run over” by the truck, he said.
The woman’s helmet “was torn off her head” between the time of the impact between the motorcycle and vehicle and the time she was struck a second time, according to emergency-radio reports.
The woman reportedly suffered trauma to her hip, back and thigh, and was taken by American Medical Response personnel to Wilcox Memorial Hospital.
It was not known whether the male motorcycle rider, a resident of Kaua‘i, suffered any injuries in the incident, but he was reported to be in shock, based on emergency-radio reports.
“He certainly wasn’t the focus of the attention of the firemen,” Kaden said.
The woman was identified as being in her 40s. Neither her identity, nor the identity of her companion, were available at presstime.
Kaua‘i Police Department officers from the Princeville police station began an investigation into the incident. The condition of the truck driver, identified only as a resident of Kaua‘i, was not known. It was also not known whether or not the truck driver was arrested or cited.
The incident started shortly after the couple drove down the hilly road from Princeville and crossed the one-lane bridge over the Hanalei River, headed to Hanalei town, Kaden explained.
“They were traveling at a moderate speed, and this guy in a pickup truck comes up from behind and rams into them,” Kaden said. He based his comments on witness accounts relayed to firefighters and police authorities, he said.
Both the motorcyclist and the woman were thrown forward off of the motorcycle, Kaden said.
The woman fell into an eastbound lane, and the driver of the truck crossed the center line, drove around the motorcycle, and drove over her, Kaden said.
