Hawaii Police Department
Traffic Enforcement Unit
Acting Sergeant Wendall Carter
Phone: 961-2332
July 20, 2007
Report No. C07023214
Media Release
A man died Friday (July 20) from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle crash on Route 11 in the Kona District.
Responding to a 4:04 p.m. call, Kona patrol officers determined that a male party with three other occupants was operating a 2000 Jeep Cherokee SUV traveling north on Route 11 near the 99 mile marker in Honaunau, when the vehicle ran off the right side shoulder of the roadway, struck an embankment and flipped over.
A male passenger sustained critical injuries from the crash and was transported to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:40 p.m. Identification of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated a negligent homicide investigation and are still trying to determine who was operating the vehicle and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. It is believed that speed and alcohol were contributing factors in this crash.
Anyone with information is asked to call Officer Marvin Troutman at 326-4646, extension 229, or Acting Sergeant Wendall Carter at 961-2332.
This is the 19th traffic fatality on the Big Island this year, compared with 18 at the same time last year.
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