Media Release

A 75-year-old Holualoa man died Tuesday (November 4) after being involved in a tractor-trailer crash on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, 333 feet north of the 94-mile marker in the Kona District.

The victim was identified as Takeo Nagamine of a Holualoa address.

Responding to an 11:30 a.m. call, Kona patrol officers determined that the victim was operating a 1992 Kenworth tractor-trailer and traveling north on the highway when he drove off the right side of the road and overturned. The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle.

Fire rescue personnel took the driver to Kona Community Hospital, where he died at 12:32 p.m.

Police do not believe that speed or alcohol were involved.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated a coroner’s inquest case and believe that the driver may have suffered from a medical condition prior to the crash. 

Police are going to wait for autopsy results to determine if the victim died from a medical condition or from injuries suffered in the crash.