MEDIA RELEASE

A 23-year-old man has died from injuries he sustained in a three-vehicle crash along the Hāmākua Coast on June 19.

Michael T. Moore of Laupāhoehoe was pronounced dead at The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu at 1:34 a.m. Wednesday (July 1). The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Moore was driving south on the Hawaiʻi Belt Road near the 23-mile marker when a Toyota pickup truck, also traveling south, crossed the centerline and sideswiped a tractor-trailer traveling north, causing the tractor-trailer to cross into the southbound lane and collide with Moore’s car.

The two other drivers, a passenger in Moore’s car and a passenger in the tractor-trailer were treated for their injuries and released.

Traffic Enforcement Unit investigators are continuing the investigation and have reclassified it from a negligent injury to a negligent homicide.

This is the 13th fatality this year compared with seven at this time last year.