A 37-year-old Kihei man is dead after his motorcycle collided with a car near the intersection of Kaonoulu Street and Piilani Highway in Kihei on Friday night, and police have arrested the 18-year-old driver of the car on suspicion of negligent injury. The motorcyclist was ejected in the crash and later died at the hospital, while the teen driver was not hurt and has since been released pending further investigation.
According to KITV, the collision happened around 7:34 p.m. Friday, citing the Maui Police Department. A preliminary investigation found that a red 2013 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was headed south on Piilani Highway when a white 2013 Ford Edge, which had been traveling on Kaonoulu Street, turned onto northbound Piilani Highway and the two vehicles collided at the intersection.
The motorcyclist was thrown from the bike in the impact. He was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, the station's report states. His loved ones were being notified of his death, per the same account.
Teen Driver Arrested, Then Released
The Ford Edge was driven by an 18-year-old Kihei man, who was not injured in the crash. Police arrested him on suspicion of third-degree negligent injury and later released him pending further investigation, the outlet reported.
Officers said the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Investigators had not yet determined whether speed, drugs or alcohol played a role, and the case remains under active investigation, the report notes.
Under Hawaii law, when a death or injury is attributable to a driver's violation of the state's vehicle-safety provisions, the driver is charged under the applicable negligent-homicide or negligent-injury statute rather than the underlying traffic violation, according to the Hawaii Revised Statutes. That framework includes Section 707-706, which covers negligent injury in the second degree.
A Second Fatal Motorcycle Crash This Month
The Kihei crash comes less than two weeks after another fatal motorcycle wreck on Maui. A 44-year-old Wailuku man, Matthew Adamson, died in a crash on Wailea Alanui Drive on Oct. 11, as reported by The Maui News. In that incident, a preliminary investigation found Adamson was riding a 2015 Harley-Davidson north on Wailea Alanui Drive when he lost control, veered right and struck a curb.
Accounts differ on exactly where Maui County's traffic fatality count stands for the year. KITV's report states that countywide fatalities totaled 11 in 2026 compared with 14 at the same point in 2025, while a Maui County government update separately described an incident as the county's second traffic fatality of 2026 against nine a year earlier, and The Maui News reported the Wailea crash as the county's 10th fatality of the year versus 12 at the same time in 2025. The discrepancies between these counts have not been resolved.
Statewide, preliminary data compiled by the Hawaii Department of Transportation Highways Division shows speed contributed to nearly half of 16 fatal crashes tracked so far this year, with impairment suspected in several cases. The agency also noted that two lives could possibly have been saved had seatbelts or helmets been used.
Other recent Maui motorcycle crashes have also led to arrests. In July, a woman was arrested after a crash critically injured a motorcyclist in Wailua, with police citing suspected negligent injury in the first degree, inattention to driving and driving without a license, according to Hawaii News Now.
