A Volkswagen sedan and a Ford truck pulling a horse trailer collided on Queen Kaahumanu Highway on the Big Island, killing one person and sending two others to the hospital yesterday.

Big Island firefighters said the vehicles were traveling in opposite directions when the crash happened near Nani Kailua Drive in Kona just after 7 p.m.

The 21-year-old man driving the Volkswagen died at the scene, firefighters said. An ambulance took the two 20-year-old women in the truck to Kona Community Hospital with minor injuries.

Firefighters said the horse owner was able to round up the horses, which had escaped from the trailer after the crash. 

The crash closed Queen Kaahumanu Highway for a time as police investigated the accident.