Posted at 9:51 a.m., Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Big Island man killed in auto accident
Advertiser Staff
HILO, Hawai'i — A 55-year-old Hilo man who was riding in the back of a pickup truck died Tuesday following a wreck on Hawai'i Belt Road near Milepost 29.Police said Alfredo Raquedan Jr. and two males, ages 17 and 18, were thrown from the bed of a westbound 2003 Toyota truck at about 4:30 a.m. when the vehicle hydroplaned on the wet road, crossed the centerline and smashed into an embankment.
Raquedan was pronounced dead at 1:50 p.m. at Hilo Medical Center. A front-seat passenger was treated at the hospital for minor injuries and released. The 17-year-old boy was treated for minor injuries at North Hawai'i Community Hospital, while the 18-year-old was admitted in serious condition.
The driver of the truck, a 34-year-old Hilo man, was not injured.
There have been 32 traffic fatalities on the Big Island this year, compared with 39 a year ago.
