HANAPEPE — Kauai police have confirmed this year’s fifth traffic fatality after a Kekaha man died of injuries sustained in a single-vehicle crash that occurred on Monday, May 23 in Hanapepe. Jeffrey Nitta, 63, was heading east on Kaumuali‘i Highway,
HANAPEPE — Kauai police have confirmed this year’s fifth traffic fatality after a Kekaha man died of injuries sustained in a single-vehicle crash that occurred on Monday, May 23 in Hanapepe.
Jeffrey Nitta, 63, was heading east on Kaumuali‘i Highway, near the Lele Road intersection, when he began driving erratically, police said.
Witnesses reported seeing the Chevrolet pickup veer into the eastbound shoulder then swerve into the oncoming lane about 1 p.m., eventually hitting an embankment on the westbound shoulder. The impact caused the truck to flip onto the driver’s side.
Medics transported Nitta to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. He was then medevaced to Queen’s Medical Center where he remained in critical condition until he died on Monday.
Nitta did not have any passengers in his vehicle when the incident occurred.
