73-year-old man on bike dies after being struck by truck on Front Street in Lahaina

A 73-year-old male from Lahaina was riding an electric bike on Front Street Saturday night when he was struck from behind by a truck whose driver was impaired. The cyclist later died of his injuries at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

The name of the victim, who is from Lahaina, is being withheld pending notification of his family.

The operator of the 2004 Ford F150 truck, Saul Lopez Martinez, 52, of Lahaina was arrested early Sunday morning by Maui police for negligent homicide 1 in an accident involving death; driving with a suspended/revoked license; and habitually operating a vehicle under the influence.

This is Maui County’s fourth traffic fatality in 2022, compared to one traffic death during the same time period in 2021.

This is the preliminary account of the collision by MPD’s DUI Task Force and vehicular homicide investigators:

At about 10:34 p.m., a male on a silver Xtreme generic electric bike was riding north on Front Street at Kahoma Kai Stream Bridge when he was struck in the rear by the Ford truck going in the same direction.

Martinez, the driver of the Ford, left the scene, making no attempt to assist the injured bicycle operator.

The victim, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, was transported by ambulance with life threatening injuries to the Maui Memorial Medical Center, where he died.

Police found the Ford truck parked in a nearby shopping center with Martinez inside it. Martinez was arrested at 12:30 a.m. today. He was uninjured and declined medical treatment.

The preliminary investigation said alcohol consumption is considered a factor in the crash. The involvement of speed and drugs is pending further investigation and toxicology results.