Pedestrian who died after being struck by two vehicles in Kahului identified by police

Police identified today the pedestrian who died after being struck by two vehicles Friday night in Kahului as Ruben Kaaihue, 34, of Wailuku.

Kaaihue was in the outer westbound lane of Kaʻahumanu Avenue at about 8:47 p.m. Friday when he was struck by two vehicles and suffered fatal injuries. 

He died at the scene, police said.

The preliminary investigation reveals the pedestrian was in the road — in front of the entrance of 170 Kaʻahumanu Ave., about 565 feet west of Lono Avenue and not in a marked crosswalk — when he was struck by a black 2022 Toyota Tacoma. Shortly after the first collision, he was struck again by a 2001 blue/white Honda Accord. Both vehicles were traveling westbound on Kaʻahumanu Avenue.

The 67-year-old male driver of the Toyota, the passengers of the Toyota, a 51-year-old female and 12-year-old juvenile, all from Waiheʻe, did not report injuries. The driver of the Honda, a 53-year-old female from Waiehu, also did not report injuries. All four people were wearing seatbelts and the airbags did not deploy in either vehicle.

Traffic Investigators do not suspect that alcohol or drugs were contributing factors to this collision; they also reported that speed is not a suspected factor.

This is Maui County’s 11th traffic fatality of 2022, compared to six at the same time last year.