PUNA, Hawaii (KHON2) — An unidentified motorcyclist died on Friday, Jan. 15, after he broadsided a truck at the intersection of Maku’u Drive and 24th Avenue in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision of the Big Island.
Police say, the operator of a 2013 Honda motorcycle was traveling south on 24th Avenue around 4 p.m. when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the Maku’u Drive intersection.
The motorcyclist then broadsided a 1999 Nissan truck that was traveling mauka on Maku’u Drive.
The operator of the motorcycle was unresponsive at the scene before being transported to Hilo Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 5:27 p.m., according to officials.
The driver of the truck, a 67-year-old Hilo man, was not injured.
Police have determined that speed and inattention to driving were factors in the collision. It is not yet clear if alcohol or drugs played a role, according to police.
The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet. This is the second Big Island traffic fatality in 2021 compared to one traffic-related death during the same time in 2020.
An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
