MAKAWAO - A 31-year-old Haiku woman died early Saturday morning when she failed to make a curve on Olinda Road, crashed into a stop sign and light pole and was thrown from her vehicle when it overturned, police said.
Tawny Yarborough was not wearing a seat belt, police said. Her front-seat passenger, a 33-year-old Kula woman, was wearing a seat belt and did not suffer life-threatening injuries, although she was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where she was treated and released.
The crash occurred around 1:20 a.m., about 0.7 miles east of Pookela Road, when Yarborough could not negotiate a left curve, police said. She went onto the right shoulder of the road, struck a stop sign and the concrete base of a light pole before overturning.
Police closed Olinda Road between Pookela Church and Hanamu Road while they investigated the crash scene. Police reopened the road at 5 a.m.
The crash is Maui County's 16th traffic-related fatality this year, compared with 10 at the same time last year.
