Driver involved in fatal traffic crash arrested
KIPU — Police arrested the driver of a Ford pickup truck involved in a fatal traffic crash that occurred in Kipu Saturday morning.
Joseph Frye, 36, of Koloa, was booked for criminal property damage, reckless endangering, attempted assault, reckless driving and manslaughter. He has since been released pending investigation, according to a news release from the Kauai Police Department.
About 10 a.m. Saturday, Frye was heading east on Kaumualii Highway in a Ford F150 truck, just west of Halfway Bridge. Frye attempted to overtake a Ford Mustang using the east shoulder, when the truck clipped the Mustang’s front end, causing the truck to cross the center lane and broadside a Chevy sedan.
The male driver of the Chevy sedan had to be extricated from his vehicle, the release said. He was transported by medics to Wilcox Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not yet been released.
The driver of the Mustang, a 27-year-old Koloa woman, did not require medical attention.
Frye was initially transported by medics to Wilcox Hospital. Upon release from the hospital Saturday afternoon, he was arrested and booked at police cellblock.
The crash remains under police investigation.
This is Kauai’s eighth traffic fatality in 2014.