Man killed in 3-vehicle collision near Paauilo

A man was killed in a 3-car head-on collision Wednesday morning on Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 19) in Paauilo, police said.

His name is being withheld pending positive identification and notification of his family.

According to a written Fire Department statement, the alarm was received at 9:05 a.m.

According to police, a Hilo-bound 4-door sedan crossed the centerline near the 36-mile marker and collided head-on with a northbound 2007 Kenworth dump truck. Upon impact, the sedan was pushed backward into the path of a 2016 Jeep Wrangler which was also heading in the Hilo direction.

The sedan’s driver was reportedly ejected and pinned beneath a flatbed trailer towed by the dump truck. He was dead at the scene, according to the Fire Department, and later officially pronounced dead at Hilo Medical Center.

The dump truck driver was treated and released at the scene, according to the Fire Department. The SUV sustained only minor damages and its two occupants were uninjured.

Traffic was rerouted through Hauola and Pohakea roads.

An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of the man’s death.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Officer Clarence Acob at 961-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.

The fatality is the 20th official traffic death of the year on Big Island roads compared with 10 official fatalities at the same time last year. There are four other vehicle-related fatalities this year that aren’t counted by police toward the official total, because two occurred on private property and the other two in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Email John Burnett at hawaiitribune-herald.com.