UPDATE: Victim Identified in Fatal Paragliding Accident

Crater Road, photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

Maui police have identified a paraglider who suffered fatal injuries in an accident along Haleakalā Crater Road on Monday night as 34-year-old Paul J. Macdonald of Haʻikū.

Kula firefighters responded to the incident at 6:37 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, and arrived on scene to find the man already deceased, said Maui Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga.

According to police reports, it was discovered that the victim was paragliding in the area when his equipment got caught on power lines near mile marker 3.5 of Haleakalā Crater Road.

The victim was found unresponsive and laying on the roadway near his equipment, said Maui police’s Lieutenant William Juan.

Macdonald was pronounced dead at the scene, but the cause of death has not been determined, pending autopsy results.

Maui police temporarily closed Haleakalā Crater Road between 7 and 9:30 p.m. while they conducted an investigation.