Haiku Woman Fatally Injured in Olinda Rd. Crash

By Wendy Osher

A Maui woman was killed in a single-car crash early Saturday morning (October 8, 2011) on Olinda Road in Makawao.

Maui police have since identified the woman as Tawny M. Yarborough, 31, of Haiku.

The incident was reported at 1:22 a.m. on Olinda Road, less than a mile east of Po’okela Road.

Authorities say Yarborough was operating a 2003 Toyota Highlander, and was traveling east on Olinda when she failed to negotiate a left curve and traveled into the right shoulder of the roadway.

The vehicle struck a stop sign, and collided with the concrete base of a light pole, before overturning and coming to rest on the roadway.

Maui police say Yarborough was ejected from the vehicle onto the roadway, and died of her injuries.  She was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The front-seat passenger, a 33-year-old Kula woman was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where she was treated and released for non-life threatening injuries.  The passenger was wearing a seatbelt, according to authorities.

This was Maui County’s 16th traffic related fatality this year, compared to 10 at the same time last year.