A 59-year-old Kihei man died Thursday morning after the bicycle he was riding was involved in a collision with a Jeep Gladiator pickup truck, which was overtaking multiple vehicles on Pulehu Road, police said Friday.
Police identified the bicyclist as Volker Weiss, who sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.
The Jeep operator, a 61-year-old Kula man, remained on the scene and was subsequently placed under arrest for first-degree negligent homicide. He was later released pending investigation.
The collision happened around 11:25 a.m. on Pulehu Road, 2 miles east of Hansen Road in Kahului.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the Kula man operating the 2021 gray Jeep Gladiator was traveling east on Pulehu Road and passing and overtaking multiple vehicles when he collided into a bicycle traveling west in the westbound lane.
It was unknown if the Jeep operator was wearing a seatbelt. The vehicle’s airbags did not deploy.
The bicyclist was wearing a helmet.
Speed is a suspected factor in the collision, police said. The involvement of drugs and alcohol is pending toxicology results.
This is Maui County’s eighth traffic fatality of 2023, compared to 13 at the same time last year.
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