Body ID’d as motorcyclist in earlier crash

A body found along the H-1 freeway Friday morning was that of a motorcyclist who had crashed 11 hours earlier, police said.

He was a 26-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier, Hawaii News Now reported.

Police said the body was discovered at about 11 a.m. in an area concealed by the westbound freeway guardrail near the Palama Street offramp.

Police officers had responded to the scene just after midnight Friday, when they got a report about the crash. But while they found the motorcycle at the scene, they couldn’t find its operator.

Authorities said when officers responded to the scene at 12:30 a.m., the area was dark. A traffic collision report was created, and police were trying to determine why the motorcyclist’s body was not found.

“It was located a considerably far distance from the motorcycle, and it wasn’t in the roadway,” Lt. Carlene Lau of the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division told the TV station. “It was in an area concealed by the guardrail. It wasn’t actually on the roadway.”

Police said the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet, and excessive speed is believed to be a factor in the crash. It was unknown whether the man was still alive when police arrived at the scene the first time.

Traffic was shut down for nearly three hours on two westbound lanes as police investigated. The lanes reopened by 1:45 p.m.