A 55-year-old male driver is dead and a 23-year-old male passenger is in serious condition after the semi-truck they were riding crashed on the H-1 viaduct and fell below to the Nimitz Highway median, landing on its roof this afternoon.

A Honolulu Fire Department spokesman said that the vehicle was traveling eastbound on H-1 towing an excavator when the driver lost control of the truck, which hit the center divide and fell from the viaduct to the ground below.

The accident occurred about 2:12 p.m. at Nimitz Highway and Elliott Street near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

Fire personnel and bystanders extricated the two occupants, HFD Capt. Jeff Roache said.

HFD personnel performed CPR on the driver, who was unresponsive, and was taken to the Tripler Army Medical Center. The passenger sustained injuries to both arms, but was alert.

The driver later succumbed to his injuries and died, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

The truck belongs to Hala Toa Mui Contractors.

The accident closed lanes of Nimitz Highway and the H-1 Freeway eastbound near the airport off-ramp for about 2 hours.

This is the 21st traffic fatality this year compared to 27 during the same time in 2019.