A 12-year-old Big Island boy died from injuries sustained yesterday in a one-car crash in the Ka'u District. Two men were injured, one seriously.

Police identified the victim as Blaycen Jara of Na'alehu.

Police said Jara was a passenger in a 1994 Honda two-door sedan driven by a 17-year-old boy from Na'alehu. The car was traveling north on Kamaoa Road when it struck a utility pole and overturned, police said. The crash happened one-tenth of a mile south of Holokai Street in the area of Discovery Harbour subdivision.

Police were notified at 2:14 p.m.

Jara was pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital at 7:52 p.m.

The driver was taken by fire rescue personnel to Kona Community Hospital, where he was in guarded condition. Another passenger in the car, an 18-year-old Na'alehu man, was flown by the Fire Department helicopter to Hilo Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition.

2 TEENS ARRESTED IN KALIHI ROBBERY

Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested as suspects in a gunpoint robbery of two women in Kalihi.

No one was injured in the July 15 holdup at Gulick Avenue and North School Street. Two robbers took the handbags of the women, ages 20 and 19, who were walking home after work at 2:30 a.m.

Police arrested one suspect July 22 after the victims picked him out of a photo lineup. That suspect identified the second suspect, who was arrested Oct. 30 at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility, where he was being held for an unrelated offense.

VARROA MITES FOUND IN HILO

The state Department of Agriculture yesterday said varroa mites were found at two monitoring bait stations Monday on the Big Island, near the Hilo Airport post office. Varroa mites are among the most destructive pests of honeybees.

One mite was detected among 155 bees collected at one station and five mites from a collection of 335 bees at the other station, department spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi said. The two bait stations are within several hundred yards of each other.

Agriculture Department personnel have been continuously trapping, monitoring and testing bees since varroa mites were first detected on the Big Island in August. Varroa mites have not been detected in any hives managed by beekeepers on the Big Island, Saneishi said.

Since Aug. 22, the state has found 51 varroa mites on the Big Island.

The state is asking Big Island residents to report wild beehives and bee swarms to a toll-free pest hot line at 808-643-7378.

DIAMOND HEAD CLOSED NOV. 17-20

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources will close access to Diamond Head State Monument Nov. 17-20 to remove rockfall hazards above the Kahala entrance tunnel to the crater.

"To ensure public safety, the tunnel and the entire park will have to be closed while this work takes place," said Laura H. Thielen, DLNR chairwoman. The park entrance at Diamond Head Road will be closed to all vehicle and foot traffic.

The summit trail in Diamond Head crater has been closed since Oct. 20 to check for and remove potential rockfall hazards. The entire park, including the hiking trail, will be reopened Nov. 21.

Prometheus Construction is performing the work.