19-year-old man dies following traffic collsion in North Kona

A teenager from Kailua-Kona is dead following a two-vehicle crash that shut down a portion of Queen Ka‘ahumanu in North Kona for hours Friday evening into Saturday morning.

Hawai‘i Island police responded to the collision at 6:42 p.m. near mile marker 84. According to a press release Saturday, officers learned that a green 2024 Kawasaki Ninja sport bike traveling south was overtaking multiple vehicles simultaneously when it collided head-on with a silver 2021 Honda CR-V driven by a 65-year-old woman from Kamuela.

The rider, a 19-year-old man, was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:53 p.m. The driver of the Hondas suffered minor injuries. She was transported to the North Hawai’i Community Hospital for initial treatment and was later released.

The motorcyclist has not been positively identified, pending notification of the next of kin.

The Area II Traffic Enforcement Unit has initiated a Coroner’s Inquest investigation and is asking for anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact Officer Dayson Taniguchi at 326-4646 ext. 229 or email at dayson.taniguchi@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300 in Hilo.

This is the 28th traffic fatality this year compared to 15 at this time last year.