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Single-car crash
on Maui kills 4
The driver and front passenger,
By Gary Kubota
who wore seat belts, survive
Star-BulletinWAILUKU -- Four people died this morning in a one-car crash along the main highway through Kahului.
The two women and two men are believed to have been foreigners who were working on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas anchored in Lahaina Harbor, said Police Lt. Charles Hirata.
"This is the worst accident in a long time," he said.
Hirata said speed was suspected as a factor in the crash, which happened shortly before 3 a.m. He said investigators were still determining if alcohol played a role.
The Oldsmobile Bravada sports utility vehicle was traveling on Hana Highway toward Wailuku when it failed to make the turn near Longs Drug in Kahului, jumped the curb, hit a coconut tree and flipped over, ejecting two passengers.
The car eventually came to rest near the GTE Wireless offices.
The driver and the front seat passenger were taken to Maui Memorial Hospital, where their condition remained unknown early this morning, Hirata said.
Hirata said the driver and front passenger, who were both men, were wearing their seat belts and survived.
The four people in the back, two men and two women, did not wear seat belts and all died.
The four men were from Turkey, and the two women were from Great Britain.
The four fatalities bring the total traffic deaths on Maui this year to 10, compared with five for the same period last year.
