Inmate dies after getting struck by car moments after breaking out of Hawaiian prison

The sweet taste of freedom was short-lived for a Hawaiian fugitive who has now died after being struck by a car just moments after he escaped from prison.

Around 1 a.m. last Friday, 33-year-old Matthew J. Ornellas Jr., an inmate serving time at Kaua'i Community Correctional Center for a class C drug felony, decided to make a run for it. He managed to scale the prison walls despite the razor wire, and he then disappeared amid the thick brush surrounding the facility, causing guards to lose sight of him.

The escape plan quickly went south, though, when Ornellas ran out onto nearby Kuhio Highway and was almost immediately struck by a car. The "loud sound from the roadway" alerted officers to his whereabouts, said a statement from Democrat Hawaii Gov. Josh Green.

The officers found Ornellas lying in the road, badly injured, about 100 yards from the prison. An ambulance then arrived to transport him to the hospital, where his condition continued to "deteriorate," the governor's statement said.

On Thursday, less than a week after his prison break, Ornellas succumbed to his injuries.

"The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) extends its heartfelt condolences to Ornellas’ family and loved ones," said DCR Director Tommy Johnson.

The apparent hit-and-run remains under investigation, as police still have not identified the car or driver who fatally struck Ornellas. The only clue mentioned in the governor's statement is that "a dark-colored vehicle" was spotted "making a U-turn on Kūhiō Highway" in the area just after the crash.

Kaua'i Police Department is asking anyone with information about the incident to come forward by calling Officer Henshaw at 808-241-1616, calling Crime Stoppers Kaua'i at 808-246-8300, or by submitting a tip at cskauai.org

Kaua'i Community Correctional Center has both medium- and minimum-security units. Ornellas was considered a "minimum custody inmate" even though he had been convicted of "promoting a dangerous drug," Green's statement said. It is unclear how long Ornellas had been incarcerated or how much of his sentence he had yet to serve.

Kaua'i, the fourth-largest island in Hawaii, has a population of less than 75,000.

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