3 injured in Puhi collision Wednesday

LIHU‘E — Two elderly women were injured late Wednesday morning as the result of a rear-end collision on Kaumuali‘i Highway. Kaua‘i Fire Department, police and county workers were on the scene.

According to the Kaua‘i Police Department, three westbound vehicles in a line were involved in a crash that occurred approximately 10:54 a.m. between Kaua‘i Community College and Kaua‘i Nursery and Landscaping near mile marker two.

The incident occurred as a line of cars began to speed up after going south through the construction near KCC. The first car, a small Toyota pickup, and a second Dodge Charger sedan with three occupants braked when the traffic came to a stop.

An Eskimo Candy Seafood delivery truck failed to stop in time and rear-ended the sedan, which caused it to rear-end the pickup.

Two elderly females in the sedan were placed on backboards with neck braces as a precautionary measure. They were taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital and were treated and released. The third occupant was uninjured.

The single occupant of the pickup and the two occupants in the delivery truck escaped injury.

According to the delivery truck driver and co-driver, one of the women in the car in the back seat appeared to be more seriously injured than the other two in the front.

The driver said the truck did not have much of a gap with the vehicle in front of it in bumper to bumper traffic when the line of cars braked.

According to the driver, he was still in training. He expressed concern for the injured women and hoped they were okay.

The vehicles themselves did not receive much impact damage. The Charger was towed from the scene because all three passengers were taken to the hospital. The other two vehicles were able to leave the scene under their own power.

• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by emailing tlaventure@ thegardenisland.com.