Big Island police said an autopsy determined that the 62-year-old Oceanview man died from head injuries he received Saturday when he was thrown from the motorcycle he was driving on Mamalahoa Highway in Kona.

Police said David Morse was driving a 2003 Honda motorcycle south on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11) just north of the 93-mile marker when he failed to make a turn.

His motorcycle ran off the roadway and down a large embankment and he was thrown from the bike.

He was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m.

Police believe speed and inattention were factors.

This is the 17th traffic fatality this year compared with 11 at this time last year.