A 38-year-old Ka’u man was killed in a single-vehicle crash Wednesday morning on Highway 11 near the Kona Paradise subdivision of South Kona.
A 38-year-old Ka’u man was killed in a single-vehicle crash Wednesday morning on Highway 11 near the Kona Paradise subdivision of South Kona.
The victim was identified as 38-year-old Marcus Aickin of Ocean View, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Officers responding to the 8:46 a.m. crash determined that Aickin was driving a northbound 2008 Ford F-50 pickup truck when he apparently crossed the center line, ran off the makai side of the road and struck a tree about 1,000 feet south of the 97-mile marker. Aickin was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
According to responding Hawaii Fire Department personnel, the full-size, dual wheel pickup truck was found facing north about 10 feet off the roadway and down a 10-foot embankment. The man had to be extricated from the vehicle.
Aickin, whom fire department personnel said was dead upon arrival, was taken to Kona Community Hospital where he was officially pronounced dead at 11:53 a.m., according to police.
Highway 11 was closed shortly after the crash and reopened to both directions of travel around 2:45 p.m.
Police have opened a coroner’s inquest case and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. Because the crash may have been caused by a medical condition, police are waiting until after the autopsy, scheduled for Thursday, before adding this death to the official traffic fatality count, which as of Wednesday stood at 37.