HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
OFFICER ERIC CEREZO
PHONE: 961-2332
MAY 24, 2004
H-91907

MEDIA RELEASE UPDATE

Police have identified a motorcyclist who was killed Saturday in a motorcycle crash on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11) near Milolii in South Kona.

The victim was identified as Rodger Vezina, 51, of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates in Ka’u. The victim’s identity had been withheld until notification of next of kin.

Responding to an 8:30 p.m. call, Kona patrol officers determined that Vezina was riding a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle south on the highway when his motorcycle ran off the road and came to rest over an embankment at about the 93-mile marker.

After the crash, the victim was taken to the Kona community Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Police have not determined if speed or alcohol were factors in the crash and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Vezina’s death was the 18th traffic fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared to 12 at the same time last year.

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