A 54-year-old man died in a single-vehicle traffic crash this morning in Kailua-Kona just south of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kealakehe Parkway intersection.
A 54-year-old man died in a single-vehicle traffic crash this morning in Kailua-Kona just south of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kealakehe Parkway intersection.
He has been identified as Christopher Allen of Holualoa.
Officers responding to a 6:37 a.m. call determined that Allen had driving a northbound 2004 Toyota pickup truck on the Queen Kaahumanu Highway (Route 19) when he ran off the mauka shoulder of the roadway, struck a utility pole and overturned in a lava field adjacent to the highway.
Allen was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:48 a.m.
Police believe speed and inattention were factors in this crash, but it was not immediately known if alcohol was involved.
An autopsy has been ordered.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Officer Christopher Kapua-Allison at 326-4646, ext. 229 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
Allen’s death is the 10th traffic fatality this year compared to seven at this time last year.