A 38-year-old Kapaau man was fatally injured Saturday in a motorcycle crash on Akoni Pule Highway near the 21-mile-marker in the North Kohala District.

Police identified the motorcyclist as Lance C.K. Pule.

North Kohala patrol officers, responding to a 12:44 p.m. call, determined that Pule was operating a 2011 Kawasaki motorcycle and traveling south on Akoni Pule Highway when he overtook another vehicle in a no-passing zone, lost control and ran off the right side of the highway.

Pule was not wearing a helmet. He was taken by Fire Department helicopter to Kohala Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:31 p.m.

Witnesses reported that Pule was operating traveling at high speed, police said.

It was the sixth traffic fatality on Hawaii island this year, compared to five at this time last year.