Police have identified a 24-year-old man killed in a two-vehicle collision this morning on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 19) a half-mile west of the 46-mile marker as Lloyd W. Edwards of Honokaa.
Police have identified a 24-year-old man killed in a two-vehicle collision this morning on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 19) a half-mile west of the 46-mile marker as Lloyd W. Edwards of Honokaa.
Officers responding to a 5:58 a.m. call determined Edwards was driving a 2017 Honda Civic 4-door sedan in the Hilo direction when he crossed the double-solid yellow center line into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a Waimea-bound 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck.
Edwards, who was unresponsive at the scene, was pronounced dead at 11:03 a.m. at Hilo Medical Center.
The driver of the pickup truck, a 25-year-old Honokaa man, was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital and reported in stable condition.
The crash closed Highway 19 for several hours with traffic rerouted to Old Mamalahoa Highway between Ahualoa and Lakeland. The highway has since been reopened.
Police think speed and inattention were factors in the crash.
An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
Edwards’ death is the 23rd official traffic fatality this year compared to 28 at this time last year.
Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to call Officer Blayne Matsui of the Hilo Traffic Enforcement Unit at 961-2339 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
