A quiet Thursday afternoon on Daniel K. Inouye Highway—known as Saddle Road—turned into a scene of unimaginable tragedy on Oct. 23, 2025. At around 4:34 p.m., east-bound traffic near the 25-mile marker was shattered when a pickup truck overtook several vehicles and collided head-on with a west-bound SUV carrying a family.
The pickup, a 2022 Toyota, was driven by 43-year-old Kimo Medeiros of Kurtistown. According to police, he was traveling toward Hilo when he passed multiple vehicles illegally and barreled into the oncoming 2014 Subaru SUV. Inside the Subaru were six people: a 47-year-old woman, a 51-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman, a 17-year-old girl, a four-year-old boy, and a three-week-old infant.
Emergency crews from the Hawaiʻi Fire Department, Pōhakuloa Fire & Emergency Services and the patrol responded swiftly, closing the highway during the investigation. Tragically, the woman in the back seat—identified as Anina Masaichy, 47, of Kailua-Kona—was found unresponsive at the scene and pronounced dead later at 7:53 p.m. at Hilo’s medical center.
The other five passengers were seriously injured. The infant and the four-year-old boy were medevaced to Oʻahu’s Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children; the 17-year-old girl was flown to Queen’s Medical Center for treatment. The two adult occupants received care at Hilo’s facility before being transferred. Meanwhile, Medeiros was taken to the same hospital for his own injuries and later medevaced to Queen’s, where he remains in serious condition.
Police arrested Medeiros on multiple charges: suspicion of driving under the influence, first-degree negligent homicide, multiple counts of negligent injury (first and second degree), reckless driving, and driving without a license. Investigators say that speed and the possible involvement of alcohol and/or drugs are under review as contributing factors.
Further complicating the story: court records show Medeiros had a long history of traffic infractions dating back to 2002, including speeding and running stoplights. He was notably cited just three days prior to the crash for driving without a license. A witness traveling the route daily recalled the pickup “passing three, five cars at a time” moments before the collision.
This devastating incident brings the total traffic fatalities on Hawaiʻi Island this year to 19, as of this crash, compared to 25 at the same point last year. The Hawaiʻi Police Department’s Area I Traffic Enforcement Unit is continuing the investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact Officer Laurence Davis or call the department’s non-emergency line.
Families, neighbors and the community are left grappling with the weight of what was a preventable tragedy—an afternoon drive that turned life-changing in a flash, and reminders of how decisions made in mere seconds can echo for lifetimes.
