A 24-year-old woman was killed and a teen was in critical condition after a three-car crash in Pahoa early yesterday morning, police said. It was the third traffic fatality in two days on the Big Island.

Police said the latest accident occurred about 2:30 a.m. yesterday when a speeding car traveling on Route 130 near Pahoa collided with a vehicle turning left from Post Office Road in Pahoa.

The force of the collision threw the driver of the turning car from her vehicle onto the roadway, where she was struck by a car headed in the opposite direction.

The driver of the speeding vehicle, a 19-year-old Pahoa man, was later arrested at Hilo Medical Center for investigation of negligent homicide and driving under the influence of an intoxicant, police said. He was later flown to The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, where he was in critical condition last night.

A 30-year-old man who was a passenger in the woman's car was in stable condition at Hilo Medical Center, police said. The driver of the third vehicle, a 17-year-old Pahoa girl, was not hurt.

On Friday, a 49-year-old Volcano man was killed in a two-car crash on the Hawai'i Belt Road in the Kiolaka'a area of the Ka'u District, police said.

The victim, identified as Allen Yan Chuck Kahawaii, was driving east on the road about 4 p.m. when he apparently lost control of his vehicle, crossed the center line and hit a van driven by a Hilo woman and carrying eight Japanese tourists. Seven of the passengers, as well as their 30-year-old female driver, were treated for minor injuries at local hospitals and released, police said.

Speed and a wet roadway appeared to be factors in the crash, police said yesterday. It was not known if alcohol or drugs were involved, they said.

Also yesterday, police identified the man killed Friday in a single-car accident in Kona as Thyres K. Simao, 24, of Kona.

Police said Simao, who was alone, apparently ran off the right side of the road on Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway and overturned just north of the 88-mile marker.

Police do not believe speed or alcohol were factors in that crash.

The three deaths brought the Big Island's traffic toll for the year to 16, compared with 14 at the same time last year.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.