A Wai'anae man was killed early yesterday after he stopped his pickup truck in the right lane of H-1 Freeway near Kapolei and got out to check the tow rope on a vehicle he was pulling.

He was bent over between the two vehicles when the pickup he was towing was struck from behind by another vehicle.

The impact drove the towed vehicle forward and the man was crushed between it and his pickup.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His identity had not been released last night.

Two teens in the Wai'anae man's truck were not injured. Nor was the driver of the towed vehicle, a 48-year-old Wai'anae woman.

The accident happened about 1:35 a.m. on H-1 Freeway west-bound, just west of the Kalaeloa Boulevard overpass.

Police said the 39-year-old Wai'anae man was driving a 2003 red Chevy pickup and was towing a 1991 white Ford pickup.

The tow rope had apparently become entangled on the axle of the second vehicle.

As the man tended to the rope, a 1999 Dodge van hit the towed vehicle.

The driver of the van, a 58-year-old Wai'anae woman, was treated and released for minor injuries at The Queen's Medical Center.

Police said that alcohol and drugs did not appear to be factors in the crash. It was unknown whether speed was a factor.

The traffic fatality was the 29th of the year on O'ahu, compared with the same number at this time last year, police said.