Hawaii County police have initiated a negligent homicide investigation into the death of a 25-year-old Captain Cook man who was struck by an SUV in Kailua-Kona Sunday night.

He has been identified as Nelsin Santos of Oceanview.

At 8:30 p.m., a 24-year-old Kailua-Kona man was traveling west on Kaiminani Drive at the intersection of Ane Keohokalole in a 2016 Toyota 4Runner when it struck Santos who was walking within the westbound lane of Kaiminani, police said.

Santos was transported to Kona Community Hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead at 9:27 p.m.

An autopsy is planned to determine the exact cause of death.

This is the 22nd traffic-related fatality on the Big Island compared with 15 at the same time last year.

Any witness to the fatal crash is asked to call Officer Justin Hoosier at 326-4646 ext. 229 or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300.