Big Isle man dies after tractor-trailer hits embankment
A 61-year-old Naalehu man was killed Monday when the tractor-trailer he was driving ran off the Hawaii Belt Road in South Kona hit a rock wall, overturned and burned.
An autopsy will be perform to determine the cause of death for Brysson Lorenzo Sr., Big Island police said.
Lorenzo was driving a 1994 Kenworth tractor-trailer northbound on Hawaii Belt Road near the 85-mile marker when he ran off the right shoulder of the roadway and collided with a rock embankment. The collision caused the tractor-trailer to overturn onto its left side and catch fire. Lorenzo was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:40 a.m.
Police do not believe speed was a factor in this crash and it is not immediately known if alcohol was a factor.
Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked o call Officer Kimo Keliipaakaua at 326-4646, extension 229. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
This is the Big Island’s 17th traffic fatality this year, compared with 15 at this time last year.