Updated at 9:15 p.m., Sunday, April 29, 2007
Speed, wet roadway factors in fatal SUV crash
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
The man was the lone occupant in a four-door 2004 GMC Envoy that veered off the roadway, struck a tree and burst into flames on the freeway, two-tenths of a mile north of the Pineapple Road overpass at 3:35 a.m.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Vehicular homicide investigator Sgt. Lorenzo Ridella said the driver lost control of the speeding sports utility vehicle at a right-hand bend in the roadway. The vehicle went off the road, spun in a clockwise rotation and struck a tree.
Wet conditions and speed are apparent factors, Ridella said.
The Medical Examiner's office has tentatively identified the man, who was badly burned, but is not releasing his name until
ID is confirmed.
The death is O'ahu's 30th traffic fatality of the year as compared to 34 at the same time last year.
