FBI, Maui police investigate multiple explosive device placement in Hawaii after SUV destroyed

The FBI and Maui police are asking the public to report any suspicious activity after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated last week and several others were recovered.

The explosion occurred Aug. 8 on Old Haleakala Highway, according to an FBI news release. The 7-by-4-inch IED was left in a trash bin before it struck a passing vehicle, sending the driver to the hospital.

“I saw a flash in the sky and I thought it was lightning,” witness Jessica Weatherholt told local station KITV. “I heard the loudest explosion I’ve ever heard in my life. It sounded like an attack. It sounded like someone was dropping bombs.”

“The driver’s side window was shattered, the frame was bent,” she continued, before describing the condition of the white SUV that was struck by the device. “The entire body was punctured and riddled with shrapnel.”

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The FBI in Hawaii said the explosive device found was cylindrical, about 7 inches by 4 inches, and resembled a basket. (FBI)

Several explosive devices were identified and collected by the FBI and Maui Police Department (MPD) from trash cans or other out-of-sight locations along roads between Kahului and Kula, authorities said. They vary in shape and size but have been secured.

“The FBI and MPD continue to urge the public to report any suspicious activity that may pose a threat to public safety, such as an unattended item in a public space,” the FBI said in a press release. “If you see a suspicious or unfamiliar item, especially near a street or roadway, do not touch, drive over, or approach it for any reason. If possible, keep others away from the area and call 911 immediately.”

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The FBI is working with Maui police to find the person or people responsible for placing explosives at several locations in Hawaii. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)

Forensic examinations are ongoing to determine how the devices were configured to detonate. The IEDs may look like small, makeshift baskets, the FBI said.

Both the FBI and MPD are working to find those responsible. Investigators say the driver of the SUV hit by the explosion has been released from the hospital.

Aerial view of Kahului. Maui. Hawaii. USA. (Andre Seale/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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“If we had left 10 or 15 minutes earlier to pick up our daughter from work, that could have been us,” Weatherholt said of the victims in the white SUV. “We would have been in the same spot as that woman.”