A 61-year-old man died when the tractor-trailer truck he was driving crashed early Monday morning in South Kona near the 85-mile marker of Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 11) north of Ocean View.
A 61-year-old man died when the tractor-trailer truck he was driving crashed early Monday morning in South Kona near the 85-mile marker of Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 11) north of Ocean View.
He has been identified as Brysson Lorenzo Sr. of Naalehu.
Officers responding to a 2:57 a.m. call determined Lorenzo ran off the right shoulder of the road in a northbound 1994 Kenworth tractor-trailer and collided with a rock embankment.
The collision caused the tractor-trailer to overturn onto its left side and catch fire. Lorenzo was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:40 a.m.
Police don’t believe speed was a factor in this crash and it’s not immediately known if alcohol was a factor.
An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Officer Kimo Keliipaakaua at 326-4646, ext. 229 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
This is the 17th traffic fatality this year compared with 15 at this time last year.