HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT SAMUEL V. JELSMA
PHONE: 961-2332
OCTOBER 15, 2001
G-84094
MEDIA RELEASE
A 24-year-old South Kohala man died Monday morning (October 15, 2001) following a motorcycle-car collision that occurred the previous afternoon on Kawaihae Road (Route 19).
The victim was identified as Jason Phillips, of a Waimea address.
Responding to a 4:12 p.m. call Sunday, police determined that the victim was riding his custom Harley Davidson motorcycle west down Kawaihae Road about 0.4 miles west of the 61-mile marker when his motorcycle crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a 1994 Honda sedan.
The victim, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from his motorcycle and suffered head injuries. The driver and sole occupant of the Honda, identified as Lorna Lorenzo, 29, of Honokaa, was not injured in the accident.
Fire rescue personnel transported Phillips to the North Hawaii Community Hospital. The victim was later flown to the Queens Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:05 a.m. Monday.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Phillips’ death was 22nd traffic fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared with 30 at the same time last year.
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