Molokaʻi Man Succumbs to Injuries in Rollover Crash

Molokaʻi Fatality. Maui Now graphic.

By Wendy Osher

A Molokaʻi man has since died of injuries suffered in a single-vehicle collision reported in the Mauna Loa area of Molokaʻi last month.

Maui police have since identified the man as Harry Shimizu, 86, of Molokaʻi.

According to police reports, Shimizu was a passenger in a 1999 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck that was traveling east on the Mauna Loa Highway at around 6:39 a.m. on Thursday, May 8, 2014, when the driver–an 86-year-old Molokaʻi woman–veered left of center and struck a guardrail on the north side of the roadway.

Police say the vehicle then crossed the center line and continued to the south shoulder, where it went up an embankment and flipped on its roof.

Shimizu was initially transported to the emergency room at the Maui Memorial Medical Center for treatment of life-threatening injuries, and died on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, according to police reports.

A preliminary police investigation reveals that both occupants were wearing seatbelts, but that the vehicle airbags did not deploy.

This was the 14th traffic fatality on Maui County roads this year compared to eight at the same time last year.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.