LIHUE – Police have identified the pedestrian who was struck and killed Saturday night along Kaumualii Highway in Kaumakani as 19-year-old Michael Kocher, Jr. of Hanapepe. According to a preliminary report, Kocher was walking on the roadway at around 9:35
LIHUE – Police have identified the pedestrian who was struck and killed Saturday night along Kaumualii Highway in Kaumakani as 19-year-old Michael Kocher, Jr. of Hanapepe.
According to a preliminary report, Kocher was walking on the roadway at around 9:35 p.m., just east of the Kaumakani Post Office, when he was struck by an eastbound Toyota Corolla. A police officer responding to the scene, also heading east, then struck the man a second time.
Responding medics confirmed that Kocher had no vital signs and was presumed dead at the scene. He was later transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where a medical doctor pronounced him dead.
An autopsy is scheduled for later this week.
This crash remains under investigation and anyone who may have information on Kocher’s whereabouts prior to the crash Saturday evening is urged to contact police.
This is Kauai’s first traffic fatality of 2015.
