Hawai‘i Island police renew request for information on 2022 traffic fatality

Hawai’i Island police are once again renewing their request for information on a traffic-related incident nearly two years ago in Hilo that left a Pāhoa man dead.

On Aug. 24, 2022, at approximately 6:20 a.m., South Hilo patrol officers responded to the Puainako Street extension near mile marker 3 for a report of a male who had reportedly been struck by a vehicle.

Responding officers later determined that Allen Y.L. Kealoha, 62, had stopped his commercial flatbed delivery truck on the side of the roadway just above the entrance to the Hilo Hillside subdivision. It is believed the vehicle may have experienced mechanical issues, and that Kealoha was also securing his cargo.

Based on evidence at the scene, investigators believe Kealoha may have been struck by his vehicle.

Witnesses reported seeing another vehicle with two male occupants to be in the area around the same time. Police have not been able to identify and interview these individuals.

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

Area I Criminal Investigation Division and Area I Traffic Enforcement Unit personnel responded to the scene to continue this investigation, which remains classified as a Coroner’s Inquest.

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

Police continue to seek answers in this case to provide some type of closure for Kealoha’s family.

Anyone that may have any information on this incident or who may have been in the area of the Puainako Street extension is urged to contact the police department’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311, or the Area I Criminal Investigation Division, at 808-961-2255.