A 47-year-old Wailuku man died Monday afternoon after the moped he was operating was struck from behind by a motorcycle in Wailuku.

According to police, the A 2004 Suzuki GSXR motorcycle was traveling  west on Waiehu Beach Road around 3:53 p.m. when it struck the back of the moped at the intersection of Linekona Place.

The motorcycle continued west and sideswiped the left side of a car parked along the shoulder of the road.

The moped operator, identified as Earle Maielua, sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. The motorcycle operator, identified as a 25-year-old man from Wailuku, suffered minor injuries and was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Neither man was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.

Speed may have been a factor in the crash, police said. It is not yet known if drugs or alcohol were factors.

Police closed Waiehu Beach Road from Kahului Beach Road to Eha Street for more than four hours as they investigated the scene.

This was Maui County’s 12 motor vehicle fatality this year, compared to 20 at the same time last year.