A 38-year-old Kapaau man died Saturday from injuries he received in a motorcycle crash on Akoni Pule Highway, near mile marker 21 in North Kohala, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Police identified Lance C.K. Pule, of Kapaau, as the motorcycle operator.
Responding to a 12:44 p.m. call, North Kohala patrol officers determined Pule was operating a 2011 Kawasaki motorcycle and traveling south on Akoni Pule Highway, where he overtook another vehicle in a no-passing zone, lost control and ran off the right side of the highway. He was not wearing a helmet, police said.
Pule was taken by Fire Department helicopter to Kohala Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:31 p.m.
It is unknown at this time if alcohol or drugs were involved, but speed was a factor in this crash, police said. Witnesses reported Pule was operating the motorcycle at a high rate of speed.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated a coroner’s inquest case and ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
This is the sixth traffic fatality on the Big Island this year.