Hawaii AG Investigates Fatal Banyan Tree Collapse
The state Department of the Attorney General is investigating the circumstances surrounding the collapse of a large banyan tree that killed two women on July 12 on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo.
A banyan tree uprooted and fell on the former Calvary Chapel Hilo building, damaging the front and killing two women who were trapped and crushed beneath the tree.
According to Andrew Laurence, spokesperson for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the trunk of the tree was on state land previously used as a parking lot at the mauka end of Wailoa State Recreation Area, overlooking Wailoa Pond.
The site is now cordoned off to the public, and the DLNR Land Division said in August that future use of the property is "not certain."
The fallen tree also killed two women who were trapped and crushed beneath the massive tree.
Author's summary: Hawaii AG probes fatal tree collapse.