LIHU‘E — A 66-year-old man was killed when the pickup truck he was driving struck another vehicle, and then rolled into a ditch along Kaumuali‘i Highway on Sunday afternoon.
The incident happened at approximately 2:45 p.m. near mile marker 6 when Ronald Britton, of Oma‘o, who was driving a Toyota Tacoma eastbound on the highway, rear-ended a Nissan Sentra “operated by a 62-year-old man from Washington,” the Kaua‘i Police Department (KPD) said on Monday.
“The Tacoma lost control, left the roadway, and rolled into the ditch. While the operator of the Nissan Sentra and his passenger were uninjured, American Medical Response personnel pronounced the operator of the Tacoma dead at the scene.”
The crash closed Kaumuali‘i Highway for approximately 150 minutes while the KPD’s Traffic Safety Section conducted an on-scene investigation. Speed and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the crash.
However, the investigation is ongoing and toxicology reports are pending. The Kaua‘i Fire Department also responded to the scene.
The incident marked the fourth traffic-related fatality on the island of Kaua‘i this year.
A little more than an hour after the fatal crash, a motorcyclist was injured when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a curb at the junction of Kaumuali‘i Highway and Waialo Road in ‘Ele‘ele.
The motorcyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, was treated at the scene. He was then transported to Wilcox Medical Center in Lihu‘e, where he was listed in stable condition, the KPD said. The incident happened at approximately 4 p.m.
Impairment did not appear to be a contributing factor in the crash. However, toxicology reports are pending.
The crash closed the right turn lane onto Kaumuali‘i Highway for approximately two hours while the KPD’s Traffic Safety Section conducted an on-scene investigation.
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
