MEDIA RELEASE

A moped passenger injured in a crash with a dump truck Tuesday (May 26) has died from her injuries.

Twenty-nine-year-old Mokihana Choy of Kailua-Kona was pronounced dead at The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu at 12:24 p.m. Wednesday (May 27).

The operator of the moped, a 21-year-old Kailua-Kona man, remains at Kona Community Hospital in stable condition.

Police have reclassified the case from a negligent injury to a negligent homicide. The investigation continues.

At approximately 10 a.m. Tuesday, the moped was merging onto the southbound lane of Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway from Hualālai Road, when it attempted to merge between a dump truck and the trailer it was pulling. The trailer ran over the moped, which was carrying the operator and Choy. Neither rider was wearing a helmet.

The operator of the dump truck was not injured.

This is the 10th fatality this year compared with seven at this time last year.