Mt. View Man Dead After Rear-Ending Vehicle

Big Island police said a 28-year-old man died early Friday after his pickup truck rear-ended another vehicle on Highway 11 in Mountain View.

Police said Waimoku T. Lum Ho of Mountain View was speeding when his 1999 Chevrolet pickup ran into the rear of a 2009 Dodge Ram flatbed truck heading in the Volcano direction. The crash occurred near the 13.5-mile marker shortly before 1:30 a.m.

Lum Ho, who police said was not wearing a seat belt when the crash occurred, was taken to Hilo Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:50 a.m.

Fire Department personnel arriving at the scene at 1:30 a.m. found a police officer performing chest compressions on Lum Ho. The Jaws of Life were required to remove him from his vehicle, a Fire Department statement said.

The flatbed was found further up the highway. Police said its driver, a 39-year-old Volcano man, was not injured.

Police said it was not known whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash. Police have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Officer Paul Kin at 961-2232.

The fatality was the ninth on public roadways so far in 2012 compared to six at this time last year.