Police traffic investigators have identified a man who died December 31, 2006, in a motor vehicle crash on Palm Parkway in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision in the Ka'u District.
The victim was identified as Chad P. Waite, 33, of Ocean View.
Police received DNA tests that were conducted by the Honolulu Police Department to identify the victim.
Responding to a 10:20 p.m. call on December 31, Ka'u patrol officers determined that a 1993 Saturn 4-door sedan was traveling west on Palm Parkway when the driver lost control and ran off the left side of the roadway. The vehicle then caught on fire.
Fire Department personnel extinguished the fire and discovered a body within the vehicle.
The victim was transported to the Kona Community Hospital and pronounced dead at 10:41 a.m. on January 1
Since this death occurred in a private subdivision, it was not counted toward the island's traffic fatality count.
