HANA - A 19-year-old driver of a Toyota pickup truck died early Sunday morning after the truck traveled off of Piilani Highway near Kakio Road, crashed into a utility pole and overturned, police said late Sunday afternoon.
Police said John Boyd Krause of Hana sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. His passenger, a 20-year-old Hana man, was taken by Maui Medevac to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where he was treated and released.
The 20-year-old had sustained head and leg injuries, according to the Maui County Paramedics Association.
Police said the incident occurred around 5:40 a.m. as the 1992 Toyota pickup was traveling south toward Kaupo just about one mile south of Kakio Road when it traveled right off to the shoulder of the roadway. It then hit a utility pole and overturned.
Both men were not wearing seat belts, and speed and alcohol are suspected in the crash, police said.
According to a county notice, the highway in the area of the crash was closed for around eight hours as police investigated.
This is Maui County's 14th traffic fatality for the year as compared to five at the same time last year.
