Body Found Down Cliff in Fatal Waihee Accident

(Update: 8 a.m. 5/14/11)

By Wendy Osher

Maui police have identified the woman in this morning’s fatal Waihee crash as Tiare Franco, 22, of Haiku.

The accident was reported at 1:08 a.m. About 1.6 miles north of Oki Place in Waihee.

According to police records, a 2005 Dodge pickup truck was traveling north on the Kahekili Highway when it lost control, failed to negotiate a left curve on the road, and proceeded down a steep embankment.

Franco, who was an occupant of the pickup, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Another occupant fled the scene after the crash.

The involvement of speed, drugs, and alcohol are being investigated as possible factors in the crash. The accident was the 4th traffic fatality on Maui County roads this year compared to 7 at the same time last year.

(Update: 7:52 a.m. 5/14/11)

By Wendy Osher

File image, Wendy Osher.

Maui Police are investigating the cause of a fatal motor vehicle collision reported in Waihee early this morning (Saturday, May 14, 2011). Responding officers located the body of an unidentified woman in a truck about 75 feet down the face of a cliff in Waihee.

The accident was reported by nearby residents who said they heard the crash at around 1 a.m.

The accident occurred just past Waihee Elementary School, which is located at 2125 on the Kahekili Highway.

***We will post more information as it becomes available.