A driver died late Friday night after a pickup truck rolled over on North Kulani Road in Mountain View, becoming the 26th traffic fatality on Hawai‘i Island this year. The crash pushes this year's death toll well past the 17 fatalities recorded at the same point in 2025, a grim marker in what has become an especially deadly year on island roads.
Police responded at 10:07 p.m. Friday to a report of a collision on North Kulani Road, just south of Stainback Highway, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Investigators determined that a green 1998 Toyota pickup truck had been traveling south on North Kulani Road when the driver lost control, veered onto the right shoulder, struck a tree and overturned, per Big Island Now.
The driver, who was the vehicle's only occupant, was found unresponsive at the scene. Fire and medical personnel attempted lifesaving measures but were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at 10:32 p.m., the outlet's report notes. Police are withholding his identity pending positive identification and notification of next of kin, and an autopsy has been ordered to determine his exact cause of death, the station's report adds.
Speed, Seat Belt and Impairment Flagged as Possible Factors
Police said speed, failure to wear a seat belt, and alcohol and/or drugs are believed to be factors in the crash, according to the Star-Advertiser. The investigation remains active, and the Hawai‘i Police Department has not released further details about what preceded the driver losing control of the truck.
A Year Already Far Deadlier Than the Last
Friday's crash was reported as the island's 26th traffic fatality of 2026, compared with 17 at the same point last year, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Just days earlier, the toll stood at 25 following the death of a Pāhoa motorcyclist who succumbed three weeks after a crash near the 14-mile marker on Highway 137, as Big Island Now reported in a separate story.
That climbing count has tracked a string of serious wrecks across the island this fall. A trio of motorcycle crashes within a 14-hour span on Sept. 5 left two riders dead and two others critically injured, bringing that week's tally to 24 fatalities compared with 16 at the same point in 2025, according to KHON2. One of those crashes involved a 2015 Harley-Davidson Road Glide that lost control on Kalaniana‘ole Street in Hilo and struck a utility pole, the station reported.
Similar single-vehicle wrecks have struck elsewhere in the islands in recent weeks. In Lahaina, an 18-year-old man died after his vehicle left Honoapiilani Highway and struck a tree; Maui police said he wasn't wearing a seat belt and considered speed a factor, though Hawaii News Now reported it was not yet known whether drugs or alcohol played a role.
Anyone With Information Asked to Come Forward
Hawai‘i Police Department officials are asking anyone with information about the Mountain View crash to contact Officer Johnathan Rapoza at 808-961-2339 or [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.
