Driver In Multiple Fatality Accident Was Highly Intoxicated

On November 10, 2006, a three-car accident near the park’s Hilo entrance claimed the lives of three women and two men. A 2005 Porsche SUV was traveling toward Ka‘u when it collided with two cars heading toward Hilo. All three people in the SUV were killed in the collision; two visitors from British Columbia in a convertible rental car also died, and one of the two people in the third vehicle had to be hospitalized. A recently released investigation report revealed that Samuel Furtado, the driver of the SUV, had a blood alcohol level far in excess of the legal limit. Toxicology findings show that Furtado’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of the accident was 0.27, more than three times the legal limit of .08. The drivers of the other two vehicles tested negative for blood alcohol. Click on the link below to see the original incident report.