Three people rescued from burning vehicle in rollover collision on Nimitz Highway

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) is investigating a fiery rollover crash on Nimitz Highway that injured three people early Sunday morning.

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A DLE deputy sheriff was clearing cones in the middle of the roadway that appeared to be placed there by others in the area when he heard a loud engine sound from a vehicle moving toward him, according to DLE officials.

The sheriff immediately got out of the way into a safe location and called all units to respond – which included the Honolulu Police Department (HPD), Honolulu Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

According to the initial report, the vehicle was heading on Nimitz Highway toward the Sand Island Access Road merge at an excessive speed. At about 3:15 a.m., the vehicle lost control and went through a guard rail into a ditch.

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The deputy sheriff ran toward the burning vehicle and began rescuing three people trapped inside: a 20-year-old female, a 19-year-old male and a 22-year-old male.

Additional DLE deputies who immediately arrived on scene, extinguished the fire and assisted in extracting the occupants from the car. HFD arrived shortly after and began stabilizing the occupants.

Honolulu EMS took over and treated the 20-year-old female and 19-year-old male for multiple injuries before transporting all three to emergency rooms. The 22-year-old male declined treatment at the scene.

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HPD assisted DLE in controlling the scene for the investigation and traffic.

DLE is looking into speed and impaired driving as part of the investigation.