Witnesses told police a motorcyclist was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic on Fort Weaver Road before a fatal crash at about 5:30 a.m.

The motorcyclist, a 27-year-old man, died at the crash scene which was near the recently closed Hawaii Medical Center-West. The Army said the man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was stationed at Schofield Barracks.

The crash closed the north-bound lanes of Fort Weaver Road, the main artery out of Ewa Beach, leading to the H-1 Freeway. Police reopened the road at about 8:05 a.m. after police investigated the scene and firefighters cleaned up fluid and debris on the road.

The motorcycle may have clipped a vehicle near the Farrington Highway cut-off, causing the motorcyclist to lose control, said Lt. Robert Towne of the Honolulu Police Department’s traffic investigations division. The victim flew off the motorcycle, slid about 30 feet into a guard rail, severing his arm, Towne said.

The motorcycle also slammed into the guard rail, ricocheted off of it, and traveled another 100 feet near the Farrington Highway overpass, he said.

The victim was wearing a helmet, Towne said.

The traffic fatality is the first of the year for Oahu.