A man who escaped from a Hawaii jail and was struck by a vehicle shortly after died of his injuries on Thursday, according to authorities. The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports that Matthew J. Ornellas Jr. suffered critical injuries in a hit-and-run after escaping Kauai Community Correctional Center shortly after 1 a.m. last Friday.
He scaled a razor wire fence, and correctional guards pursued him until they lost sight of him in dense undergrowth, according to officials.
Soon after, they heard a loud thud on the road and discovered him laying close to Kuhio Highway, roughly 100 yards from the jail. An ambulance took him to the hospital, where he remained in poor condition while in prison. His condition deteriorated, leading to his pronounced death on Thursday.
Ornellas, 33, was a minimum-security offender serving a drug-related sentence, according to officials.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says it is still investigating the escape.
Orenellas, while sprinting north in the southbound lane of Kuhio Highway, sustained a hit, according to Kauai police. Police are seeking the motorist, who fled the area before first responders arrived.
The Kauai Police Department stated it “strongly encourages anyone who may have information about this incident to do the right thing and come forward.”
Police say the event was the fourth traffic fatality on Kauai this year.
A public lawyer who represented Ornellas for a probation violation had previously declined to comment on the escape.
