Deadly Crash Claims Life of Kīhei Woman on Lahaina Bypass

Maui fatal crash. Maui Now graphic.

By Maui Now Staff

Maui police say speed and alcohol were factors in a deadly crash early Saturday morning on the Lahaina bypass that claimed the life of a Maui woman.

Police have since identified the victim as Taryn Kiyota, 23, of Kīhei Maui, and say she was a passenger in the single-vehicle crash.

The incident was reported at around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014 on the Lahaina bypass, about 1.5 miles south of Lahainaluna Road in West Maui.

According to police reports, a 24-year-old Kīhei man was operating the 2009 Toyota, and was traveling south on the bypass when he lost control of the vehicle.

Police say the vehicle traveled off the road spun across the makai grassy shoulder, and continued uncontrolled back onto the roadway where it collided into a guardrail.

Police say the man operating the car did not sustain any injuries, but his female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver was placed under arrest by Vehicle Homicide Investigators for suspected manslaughter and was released pending further investigation.

Sergeant William Hankins with the department’s Vehicle Homicide Section filed an accident synopsis saying the operator was not wearing a seat belt, but the passenger was, and that the vehicle airbags did deploy.

The incident was the 18th traffic fatality on Maui County Roads compared to 11 at the same time last year.