An autopsy conducted on a 63-year-old North Kohala man who died Friday (April 7, 2006) after being involved in a one-vehicle traffic crash on Akoni Pule Highway determined that he died of a heart attack and not from injuries sustained in the crash.

The victim was identified as Mark A. Schwartzman of North Kohala.

Responding to a 10:42 p.m. call (April 7, 2006), North Kohala patrol officers determined that the victim was operating a 1991 Honda two-door sedan and traveling north on Akoni Pule Highway when the driver drove off the right side of the road and dropped about 15 feet down into a gulch.

The victim was transported to the Kona Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The traffic fatality count for the Big Island will remain at 12, compared with 11 at the same time last year.