Hawaiʻi Police Department
Traffic Enforcement Unit
Sergeant Christopher D. Gali
Phone: 961-2332
June 11, 2011
Report No. C11015286
Media Release
An unidentified man was killed Friday (June 10) from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle/pedestrian crash on the Hawai’i Belt Road (Route 11) .3 miles south of the 108-mile marker in Captain Cook, South Kona.
Responding to an 8:13 p.m. call, Kona patrol and Traffic Enforcement Unit officers determined that the victim was walking north on the east side (mauka) shoulder of the road when he was struck by a vehicle traveling north.
The driver failed to stop and fled the scene.
Fire Rescue personnel took the victim to Kona Community Hospital, where he died at 9:51 p.m.
The victim was described as being a local male, 35 to 45 years old, 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-6, 140 to 150 pounds with black short hair, a mustache and beard, and a tattoo, possibly of a dragon, on his right arm.
He was wearing a yellow tank top and dark khaki shorts and carrying a maroon California Pak bag.
The suspect vehicle is a Chevrolet pickup truck or Blazer, model year 1998 to 2002. It may be silver.
The vehicle should have extensive front-end damage and be missing the Chevrolet emblem and parts of the black grille and chrome trim. There should also be damage to the right side headlight and assembly.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated negligent homicide and accident involving death or serious bodily injury investigations and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Police ask that anyone with information as to the identity of the pedestrian or the suspect vehicle call Officer Larry Flowers at 326-4646, extension 229, or the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
This is the 11th traffic fatality on the Big Island this year compared with 17 at this time last year.