Hawaiʻi Police Department
Traffic Enforcement Unit
Sergeant Bradley Freitas
Phone: 326-4646, Ext. 229
Report No. C15035179
Media Release
A 63-year old Kaʻū man died after an all-terrain vehicle accident on Wednesday afternoon (December 2) at the Green Sands Beach area of Kaʻū.
He was identified as Keith J. Leonatti of Nāʻālehu.
Leonatti had been operating his ATV on a private four-wheel-drive gravel road near Green Sands Beach sometime after 12 p.m. when he failed to return to meet with family members at the beach. At 12:41 p.m. family members found him unresponsive and trapped beneath the ATV.
Leonatti was officially pronounced dead at Hilo Medical Center at 8:09 p.m.
Police have classified this case as a coroner’s inquest. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
Because this crash involved an ATV on private property, it is not counted as a traffic fatality for official statistical purposes.
Police ask anyone with any information about this crash to call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311 or Officer Christopher Kapua-Allison at 326-4646, extension 229.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300. Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
