Police are renewing their request for information about a traffic-related death in August 2022 on the Puainako Street extension in Hilo.
The victim was a truck driver, 62-year-old Allen Y.L. Kealoha of Pahoa.
According to police, at about 6:20 a.m. on Aug. 24, South Hilo patrol officers responded to the Puainako Street extension near the 3-mile marker on the report of a man who had been struck by a vehicle.
Responding officers later determined that Kealoha had stopped his commercial flatbed delivery truck on the side of the roadway just above the entrance to the Hilo Hillside subdivision. It is believed the vehicle may have experienced mechanical issues, and that Kealoha was securing his cargo.
Investigators believe Kealoha was subsequently struck by his own vehicle.
Witnesses reported seeing another vehicle with two male occupants in the area around the same time. Police have not been able to identify and interview these individuals.
Kealoha was transported to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
The incident was classified as a coroner’s inquest, and an autopsy found Kealoha’s death was the result of blunt force injuries to the torso. The manner of death was ruled accidental.
Police continue to seek answers in this case in order to provide some type of closure for Kealoha’s family.
Anyone that may have any information about this incident or who may have been in the area of the Puainako Street extension on Wednesday morning, Aug. 24, 2022, is urged to call the police nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311, or to contact Detective Blaine Morishita of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2385 or email him at Blaine.Morishita@hawaiicounty.gov.
Those who prefer anonymity may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.00.