A one-car accident in North Hilo on the Big Island early yesterday killed one man and seriously injured another.

Leland W. Ambrosio, a 22-year-old Papa'aloa man, died from injuries sustained in the crash. His 23-year-old passenger was listed in serious condition yesterday at Hilo Medical Center.

The accident happened at about 4:30 a.m. on Hawai'i Belt Road, one-tenth of a mile south of the 16-mile marker in the North Hilo district, said police.

Ambrosio was driving his 1998 Mazda sedan toward Hamakua when he crossed the center line into the Hilo-bound lane and crashed into an embankment on the mauka side of the road. Fire and police crews responded.

Ambrosio was pronounced dead at Hilo Medical Center at 7:20 a.m.

An autopsy was pending. Speed and alcohol were believed to be factors, police said.

It was the 30th traffic fatality on the Big Island this year, compared with 36 at the same time last year.

In another fatality yesterday, Isaac Kainoa, 26, drowned near Makena landing on Maui, officials said. He may have been free-diving.

The man was found unconscious, floating in the water about 11:30 a.m. after Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers checked on a report of an abandoned boat about a quarter-mile off Makena landing.

Rescue workers brought him ashore where emergency medical workers were waiting. Rescue personnel were unable to revive him. Coast Guard officials said they had no other information about the victim.

On O'ahu yesterday, a motorist struck a telephone pole near the corner of Kilani and California Avenue in Wahiawa. The man and his wife, both in their 70s, were airlifted to The Queen's Medical Center, police said. The woman apparently had hit her head and the man was complaining of chest pains. Police said both were in good condition.

The accident held up traffic for nearly an hour.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.