KAILUA-KONA — A 53-year-old visitor died Thursday while mountain biking on Mana Road.
The man, whom Hawaii Police Department Maj. Robert Wagner identified as a visitor from California, was riding with a female companion when he apparently fell off his bicycle, suffering injuries to his arm and head.
The incident occurred around noon, approximately 3-4 miles off Highway 19 into the 50-mile off-road trek that traverses the slopes of Maunakea. When the report came in, the man was said to be conscious, but lost consciousness prior to the arrival of rescue personnel.
Hawaii Fire Department Battalion Chief John Whitman said an off-duty Hawaii firefighter and bystanders who happened to come upon the scene initiated CPR until rescue personnel arrived via helicopter to the remote location. Medics subsequently took over CPR and initiated Advanced Life Support protocols and took the man in critical condition to North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea.
He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
In a press release, the fire department said the man, from San Francisco, was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, and the woman, said to be the man’s spouse, reported that he had lost control of the bicycle and fell on the unpaved roadway.