Hawai‘i Police Department
Area I Traffic Enforcement Unit
Sergeant Jeremy Riddle
Phone: (808) 961-2339
Report No.: 23-092956
Media Release (Update)
Hawai‘i Island police have identified the motorist killed in a single-vehicle traffic collision in Hilo on Friday, September 29, 2023, as 59-year-old Brian Smith of Mountain View.
Around 7:15 p.m., September 29, officers responded to a reported traffic collision on Railroad Avenue in Hilo. Investigators determined that a 2001 Mazda multi-purpose vehicle driven by Smith was traveling north on Railroad Avenue just before the intersection with Lanikaula Street, when it veered to the right onto a gravel shoulder area and traveled approximately 150 feet before striking a shipping container.
Smith, who was the lone occupant of the vehicle, was found unresponsive at the scene and transported to the Hilo Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead at 10:22 p.m. An autopsy was ordered to determine the cause of death.
The East Hawaii Traffic Enforcement Unit initiated a coroner’s inquest investigation, which is continuing, pending autopsy results. If anyone has information regarding this collision they may contact Officer Jared Cabatu at (808) 961-2339 or via email at Jared.Cabatu@hawaiicounty.gov.