Police identify Utah man killed in Kohala Ranch crash

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Hawaii Island police have identified the man who died Wednesday from injuries he received in a single-vehicle collision on Kohala Ranch Road and Olomana Road in the Kohala Ranch gated subdivision in North Kohala.

Hawaii Island police have identified the man who died Wednesday from injuries he received in a single-vehicle collision on Kohala Ranch Road and Olomana Road in the Kohala Ranch gated subdivision in North Kohala.

He was identified as 60-year-old Christopher A. Sprecher of Salt Lake City, Utah, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

Responding to a 4:05 p.m. call, police determined a 1998 Toyota Land Rover sports-utility vehicle was traveling east on Kohala Ranch Road at the intersection with Olomana Road when he lost control, ran off the right shoulder and collided with a tree.

Fire rescue personnel took Sprecher to North Hawaii Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:55 pm. He was not wearing a seat belt. It is unknown at this time if alcohol or drugs were involved, police said.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated a coroner’s inquest investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Because this crash occurred in private gated subdivision, the death is not counted toward the official traffic fatality count, police said.