Truck plunges down cliff, killing driver

A 57-year-old Maui man died in a single-vehicle accident Wednesday morning after driving off a cliff in Kahikinui.

Maui police said the driver of a 2017 Dodge Ram pickup truck failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway at about 7:45 a.m. on Piilani Highway, just west of Manawainui Bridge (half a mile west of mile marker 28) and drove off the cliff.

The truck rolled about 200 feet down into the Manawainui Gulch. The driver, who died at the scene, has been identified as John Smith of Kaupo.

This is Maui County’s 12th traffic fatality compared to five the same time last year. The investigation is ongoing.