A 61-year-old motorcyclist became the third fatality on an especially deadly Monday on Big Island roads.
He’s been identified as 61-year-old Mark Brown of Reno, Nev. Police say he died after his Harley Davidson was rear-ended in a hit-and-run collision by a black 2009 Cadillac sedan in South Kona near the 88-mile marker of Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 11).
Officers responding to a 7:19 p.m. call say both the motorcycle and the Cadillac were traveling northbound when the crash occurred. Following the collision, the sedan and its driver fled from the scene prior to police arrival. The sedan was located abandoned approximately 1/2 mile north of the collision at the intersection of Hawaii Belt Road and Lani Kona Road.
Information was received that a woman was seen walking away from the sedan barefoot, and was last seen heading east on Lani Kona Road.
Brown was later pronounced dead at the Kona Community Hospital at 11:23 p.m.
Police believe inattention was a factor in this crash, but it is not immediately known if alcohol and/or drugs were a factor.
An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death, and according to a police log, a negligent homicide investigation has been launched.
Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call Officer Kimo Keliipaakaua at (808) 326-4646 ext. 229, or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
Brown was the third person to die after collisions Monday on Hawaii Island highways, and his death is the 19th official traffic fatality this year, compared to 20 at this time last year.
Peter Veincent Jr., a 48-year-old Hilo man, died following a single-vehicle crash at about 12:57 a.m. on Keaau-Pahoa Road (Highway 130) near Pohaku Place.
And Gerald Wahinekapu, a 45-year-old Kailua-Kona man, died following a four-vehicle crash at about 6:43 a.m. near the 18-mile marker of Mamalahoa Highway (Highway) 190 in North Kona.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.