Lihu‘e man dies in ‘Ele‘ele crash

‘ELE‘ELE — A Lihu‘e man died Thursday morning after the SUV he was driving ran through a ‘Ele‘ele stop sign, turned left, and broadsided a garbage truck pulling a dumpster, spinning around and flipping over, according to a preliminary police report.

The man was identified as 25-year-old Patrick Powell. Two male passengers in Powell’s vehicle received non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to Kaua‘i Veterans’ Memorial Hospital for treatment, a press release said.

The driver of the Garden Isle Disposal tractor-trailer was not injured. There were no passengers in his vehicle.

According to the report, Powell was driving a Nissan Pathfinder west on Halewili Road when he ran through the stop sign. He then turned left onto Kaumuali‘i Highway, striking the tractor-trailer as it headed south.

The SUV landed in a drainage ditch on the east side of the highway. Police believe that speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.

Following the 10:40 a.m. accident, a portion of the highway was closed. Eastbound motorists were diverted to Halewili Road, and those heading west were diverted to ‘Ele‘ele Road, the press release said. Police reopened Kaumuali‘i Highway at 2:30 p.m.

Powell is Kaua‘i’s sixth traffic fatality so far this year, and fourth driving death in less than a month.

On June 20, Scott Aviguetero, a 25-year-old truck driver from Kaumakani, and Wesley VanValkenburg, a 30-year-old visitor from Union, Ill., died in a three-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle.

On July 3, 62-year-old race car driver Rudy Ramos passed away after he lost control of his red 1958 Corvette and was ejected at Kaua‘i Raceway Park in Mana. It is unclear whether the racing accident is counted among Kaua‘i’s 2009 traffic deaths.

There were eight fatalities in the same period last year, the press release said.