A deadly year on Hawaii Island roads continued over the Memorial Day weekend with two traffic fatalities.
A motorcyclist, identified as 25-year-old Eric Figueroa of Kailua-Kona, was killed Monday after he failed to negotiate a curve on Highway 11 near the 69-mile marker near Naalehu just before 10 a.m., police said.
Figueroa’s 2001 Honda cycle crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a Jeep Wrangler driven by a 52-year-old Naalehu woman.
The woman was uninjured, but Figueroa was pronounced dead at 2:52 p.m. at Kona Community Hospital.
Police believe that speed was a factor in the crash, and an autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the accident to contact Officer Christopher Kapua-Allison at 326-4646 ext. 229 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
Figueroa’s death was the 17th official traffic fatality of the year, compared to 10 at the same time last year.
And a man killed when a white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck rolled over Sunday night in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was a 48-year-old passenger in the truck.
According to a written National Park Service statement, the truck was in the Ka‘u-bound lane of Highway 11 near the 33-mile marker when it rolled over and ejected all three occupants. The victim, who was dead at the scene, was found pinned beneath the truck.
The driver, a 43-year-old Pahoa man, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was taken by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center for further evaluation, and escorted by National Park law enforcement personnel.
The third occupant, a 53-year-old man, also was taken to Hilo Medical Center for treatment.
One lane of Highway 11 remained open during the accident scene investigation, and both lanes were open and flowing freely early Monday morning.
Names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and further investigation.
This is the second fatal traffic collision in the park this year. On Jan. 21, 65-year-old Paul Hernandez of Sparta, N.J., was killed in a two-car collision on Highway 11 near the entrance to Namakanipaio Campground.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
