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Body found near fiery wreck by Makua Cave identified


Scorched brush and debris mark the scene of a fiery crash near Makua Cave that killed one person overnight. (Courtesy Hawaii News Now)

The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the 16-year-old teenage boy who was killed in a fiery pickup truck crash on Farrington Highway near Makua Cave nearly two weeks ago as Zain Lalawai of Waianae.

However, the cause of death was derferred pending further investigation.

Police say the 12 people were riding in the pickup truck — seven in the two-seat crew cab and five in the truck bed.

Paramedics took three girls, ages 13, 14 and 15; and a 16-year-old boy to a hospital in serious condition.

Charges of negligent homicide and first-degree accidental death are pending against Kamealohanakekaiau Wilbur-Delima.

He was released from Oahu Community Correctional Center June 17 after posting bail of $330.

The crash happened on June 14 when Wilbur-Delima was lost control of the truck he was driving. The vehicle struck some rocks and burst into flames near Makua Cave just after midnight. Lalawai was killed and four teenagers were taken to the hospital.

Lalawai’s body was found on the ground outside of the truck cab, after firefighters extinguished the truck fire

Wilbur-Delima turned himself in at the main police station on June 15 — nearly 12 hours after the crash — preventing authorities from performing a blood test to determine if he was legally drunk at the time of the accident.

Police said the truck was weaving and speeding as it traveled north on Farrington Highway. It went off the road, hit a concrete piling and burst into flames about a half-mile north of Makua Cave.

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