HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
ACTING SERGEANT MARTIN ELLAZAR
PHONE: 961-2332
MARCH 22, 2002
H-01510
MEDIA RELEASE
A 59-year-old Michigan man was fatally injured Thursday (March 21, 2002) when a motorcycle he was riding collided head on with a delivery vehicle in Opihihale, South Kona.
The victim was identified as Michael Earl Danko, a visitor from Macomb, Michigan.
Responding to a 1:50 p.m. call of a two-vehicle collision, officers determined that a 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle Danko had rented was traveling north on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 11) when it crossed the centerline near the 95-mile marker and collided with a southbound delivery vehicle driven by Phillip Andrew Minnitt, 36, of a Hilo address.
Danko was taken to the Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:21 p.m.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation into the case and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Thursday’s death was the 11th traffic fatality so far this year on the Big Island, compared to two at the same time last year.
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