(BIVN) – A 52-year-old Captain Cook man was killed, two minutes into the new year, as he was setting up fireworks on a South Kona roadway. 

Police say Jelson Kainue Leslie was killed by a vehicle on Kinue Road at 12:02 a.m. on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. It was the first traffic fatality of the new year. 

The driver of the vehicle, 23-year-old Kelly Kaikili Losalio, of Captain Cook, was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and negligent homicide. 

From the Hawaiʻi Police Department:

Receiving a report of the crash at 12:02 a.m. on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, officers responded to the scene in the 82-1000 block of Kinue Road, in a residential area mauka of the Captain Cook police substation. Police investigators determined that a white 2018 Honda Accord, driven by Losalio, was traveling eastbound when it struck Leslie as he was setting up fireworks on the roadway in celebration of the New Year. 

After striking the pedestrian, the Honda collided with a parked white 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck. Leslie was transported to the Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 1:00 a.m. 

Preliminary findings suggest that both speed and impairment contributed to the collision. 

The Area II Traffic Enforcement Unit has initiated a negligent homicide investigation and is asking for anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact Officer Dayson Taniguchi at (808) 326-4646 ext. 229, or email at dayson.taniguchi@hawaiicounty.gov. Police say tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.