A pickup truck that skidded off a rainy Maunakea Access Road and plunged into a ravine Saturday, killing a 9-year-old girl and injuring seven others, might have been subject to a manufacturer’s recall for a faulty brake master cylinder.
Police say the vehicle involved in the fatal crash was a 2018 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.
According to a police statement, the driver of the truck, a 40-year-old woman, “appears to have lost control of the vehicle when the brakes did not respond.”
Police say the Tacoma, which was at about the 8,000-foot level of the mountain, then crossed the roadway in a right curve and went off the left shoulder about 100 yards, rolled over and fell into a ravine. At the time of the collision, it was raining and the roadway was wet, police said.
According to a Dec. 20, 2018, Toyota recalled 44,121 of its 2018 and 2019 Toyota Tacoma pickup trucks because a faulty brake master cylinder — which converts the force of the brake pedal into hydraulic pressure that engages the vehicle’s braking system — could allow brake fluid to leak, which could lead to a loss of brakes.
It is not known whether the truck was on the recall list — which specified certain Toyota Tacomas manufactured from Feb. 20, 2018, through Nov. 14, 2018 — nor is it known if the truck’s owner took the truck in for a free repair offered by Toyota if the truck was a recalled vehicle.
According to police, the girl — whose identity hasn’t yet been made public — was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. Saturday at Hilo Medical Center, about an hour-and-a-half after the crash. Police say she was in the back seat of the truck’s cab, one of five occupants of the cab.
There also were three occupants in the bed of the pickup truck, police said.
The driver and a 33-year-old male passenger were airlifted to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. A 3-year-old boy was airlifted to Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu in critical condition.
All occupants of the truck sustained injuries and were taken by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center for further evaluation and treatment.
According to a Hawaii Fire Department statement, “Multiple patients (were) ejected from the vehicle with life-threatening injuries.”
The fire department said medevac by county helicopter wasn’t possible due to weather conditions. The injured were transported by three fire department ambulances, an Army ambulance from Pohakuloa Training Area, and a private ambulance from American Medical Response Hawaii.
Police think speed, brake failure and passengers not wearing seat belts were contributing factors to the outcome of the crash, and a negligent homicide investigation has been opened.
The girl is the first official traffic fatality of 2022, compared to no fatalities at the same time last year.
Potential witnesses or anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Officer Jared Cabatu at (808) 961-2339 or [email protected]. Those who prefer anonymity may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.
A call to Sgt. Jeremy Riddle in the police Traffic Enforcement Unit wasn’t returned by press time.
Email John Burnett at [email protected].
