74
A 68-year-old Kapolei man died of a broken cervical spine Sunday night after he lost control of his pickup truck and crashed into another vehicle on H-1 freeway near Kualakai Parkway.
The medical examiner’s office identified the truck driver as Clifford Cuban, of Kapolei.
Two people in another car that Cuban hit were injured.
Police said Cuban was possibly speeding eastbound on H-1 at about 7:30 p.m. when he used the left shoulder to attempt to pass another vehicle, losing control of his 1997 Dodge pickup and slamming into a two-door 2006 Ford Mustang traveling in the far-right lane. The vehicles hit a right guardrail and careened across the freeway’s three lanes into a concrete median.
Cuban had fatal head and internal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Mustang’s 34-year-old male driver and 27-year-old female passenger, both of Waipahu, complained of pain and were taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in guarded condition, police said.
The couple were both wearing seat belts, but Cuban was not, police said.
Cuban is the sixth traffic fatality on Oahu this year, compared with nine at this time last year.
