A motorcyclist was killed today on the Big Island in a head-on collision on Kohala Mountain Road near the 9.5-mile marker.

Hawai'i County Traffic Enforcement supervising Sgt. Christopher Gali said the motorcyclist, a 62-year-old man who recently moved to Kohala from California, was operating a northbound 1979 Honda motorcycle which failed to negotiate a curve, crossed the centerline and into the path of an oncoming 1994 Chevy Silverado pickup truck.

The collision was reported at 2:49 p.m.

The pickup truck driver, a 55-year-old Kapa'au man, was not injured, police said.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital at 6:25 p.m. He was not wearing a helmet, police said.

Police are not releasing the name of the victim until his identity is confirmed.

Motorcycle operators have accounted for six of the Big Island's 20 traffic fatalities in 2008.