A three-car crash on Kuhio Highway in Wailua on Saturday left one motorist in serious condition.

Just before 6 a.m., a Jeep Cherokee traveling north crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a Chevy pickup truck. Then a third driver, heading north in a Ford SUV, crashed into the pickup.

The driver of the Jeep, an Eleele man, 57, sustained serious injuries and was transported to Wilcox Hospital.

The driver of the Ford SUV, a 21-year-old man from Lihue, was not injured. The driver of the pickup, a 21-year-old Lihue man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Police closed Kuhio Highway in both directions near Leho Drive until shortly after 9 a.m.

4 rescued on North Shore in 3 separate incidents

Firefighters and lifeguards rescued four people in three separate rescue calls Thursday on the North Shore.

Just before 12:30 p.m., Hanalei firefighters were dispatched to Princeville after a female hiker fell off a cliff on a trail to Turtle Cove. They found the woman, 24, conscious and lying on rocks about 80 feet below.

She was airlifted to a nearby landing zone, where medics transported her to Wilcox Hospital.

About the same time, lifeguards on watercraft rescued a Minnesota man who was in trouble about 700 yards off Anini Beach. After they got him ashore, they went back out and rescued two swimmers caught in a rip current.

It turned out that the swimmers were trying to rescue the initial victim using a boogie board and a rescue tube. They were brought back to shore and refused further treatment.

The Kauai Fire Department has recommended against any swimming or snorkeling along the North Shore while the surf is high.