Hawai’i Island police seeking tips about death of truck driver struck while securing cargo

Hawai‘i Island police are renewing their request for information about the death of 62-year-old Allen Y.L. Kealoha Sr., who was reportedly struck by his own truck while trying to secure cargo.

Witnesses reported seeing another vehicle with two male occupants in the area around the same time as the incident, which occurred at 6:20 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2022 on Puainako Street in Hilo.

Friends and family of Kealoha put up a makeshift memorial along the guardrail where he died. Fellow truckers honked as they passed the spot.

South Hilo patrol officers responded to the Puainako Street extension near the 3 mile-marker for a report of a male that had reportedly been struck by a vehicle. Responding officers later determined that the victim, Kealoha of Pāhoa, had stopped his commercial flatbed delivery truck on the side of the road 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. 

Kealoha was transported to the Hilo Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

The investigation remains classified as a coroner’s inquest.

An autopsy was performed, and based on the known circumstances in this investigation, the forensic pathologist ruled the cause of death as blunt force injuries of the torso, and the manner of death as accidental.

Police are asking for anyone with information on this incident or who may have been in the area of the Puainako Street extension on the morning of Aug. 24, 2022, between approximately 6 and 6:20 a.m. to contact the police department’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311 or Detective Blaine Morishita of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at 808-961-2385 or email him at [email protected].

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 808-961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.