HILO, Hawaii -- Five people were killed in a three-car crash Friday night near the entrance to Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island.

Three people in a car traveling toward Ka'u were killed when it crashed head-on with a vehicle headed for Hilo. Two people in the Hilo-bound car died. Another car headed for Hilo was also hit, but the occupants of that car survived.

The three cars crashed at the 28-mile marker of Highway 11 at about 10 p.m.

Two men and three women were killed. The occupants of the first Hilo bound car to be hit were tourists in a rental car, officials said.

Pieces of the cars still littered the roadside on Saturday.

Daniel Fisher, the only person to escape with minor injuries, went back on Saturday looking for his keys.

Fisher and driver Tony Gross are waiters at the Volcano House. They were driving home together after work

"His legs were crushed and I got out and walked away," Fisher said. There is some question whether alcohol was involved, but plastic cups are scattered by where crash was.

"I saw a cooler in the car they were drunk and driving at a high speed," Fisher said.

The National Park Service is in charge of the investigation because the crash happened in Volcanoes Park territory.

"This is very serious and tragic. I don't really recall a time when five people lost their lives in a traffic accident," National Park Ranger Mardie Lane said.

The Parks Service is still notifying the next of kin. Autopsies are scheduled for Monday.

Gross, the driver of the third car, was flown to Queen's Medical Center on Honolulu. He has been upgraded to fair condition.