Update: Teen driver succumbs to injuries from vehicle crash in Lahaina

Update: Maui Police ID victim

The victim from the Dec. 28, 2021 fatal motor vehicle collision on Honoapiʻilani Highway has been identified as Tayvin Armitage, 17, of Lahaina. The identity was withheld from release to the public for 24 hours to allow the family an opportunity to notify their extended family and friends.

Update: Teen succumbs to injuries from vehicle crash in Lahaina

Update: Dec. 28, 2021, 3 p.m.

Maui police say a 17-year-old male driver that was involved in a traffic accident early Monday morning in Lahaina, has succumbed to his injuries and died.

Police say the identity of the teen is not being released at this time.

The death brings the total number of fatalities on Maui County roads this year to 16, compared to 10 at the same time in 2020.

Background:

The crash was reported at 2:24 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021 on the Honoapiʻilani Highway, approximately 298 feet north of Lealiʻi Parkway near Mile 22.

The Maui Police Departmentʻs Vehicle Homicide Unit conducted an investigation at the scene. A preliminary report indicates that the operator of a 1994 Pontiac Firebird was traveling south on Honoapiʻilani Highway in the area of Wahikuli Park at a high rate of speed. 

Police say the lone occupant, a 17-year-old male driver, from Lahaina, lost control of the vehicle and collided into the guard rail.

The vehicle then continued south bound uncontrollably across both the south and north bound lanes of Honoapiʻilani Highway and eventually through the Lealiʻi Parkway intersection. According to department reports, the vehicle then traveled off of the roadway on the mauka side of the highway continuing southbound uncontrollably through a dirt field, coming to an uncontrolled stop in a ravine. Police say the vehicle collided into the side of the ravine and eventually caught fire.

As a result of the crash, the teen driver was extricated from the vehicle and transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center for treatment.

Police say an investigation reveals that the operator was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash, but airbags did not deploy.

The involvement of speed is considered a factor in this crash; and the involvement of alcohol is also believed to be a factor, according to police. The involvement of drugs is pending, and final determination will be made by MPD Vehicle Homicide Investigators.