A 39-year-old man fell to his death from the H-1 airport viaduct last night, trying to flee a deputy sheriff who was pursuing him on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

At about 8:41 p.m. a deputy sheriff spotted the driver in Mapunapuna and began chasing him as a possible DUI offender, police said. The driver collided with several cars along the way, according to the police report.

The chase ended at about 9:13 p.m. at the H-1 express off-ramp onto Nimitz Highway, when the driver headed into oncoming traffic.

The driver abandoned his own damaged vehicle, fled on foot and finally climbed onto a cement barrier by the Nimitz Highway express off-ramp. He attempted to jump onto an H-1 viaduct barrier but missed and fell to his death on Nimitz, near the Disabled American Veterans Hall, police said.

The city medical examiner's office this morning had neither identified the man nor established whether he had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

CENTRAL

Woman dies in H-1 freeway crash

A 34-year-old woman died after a speeding car in which she was a passenger overturned last night just off the H-1 freeway, near Waikele.

The driver, 39, remains in serious condition at The Queen's Medical Center, police said.

The accident happened in the eastbound lanes of the freeway, just before the Manager's Drive overpass. Witnesses told police the car, a 1993 blue Eagle Talon two-door, was speeding and weaving through traffic.

Police said the driver lost control of the car, which ran up the embankment and overturned. Both the driver and the passenger were ejected, police said.

Waipahu High's tuba stolen with car

Waipahu High School band students won't have the use of a donated professional-quality tuba, thanks to a thief who on Monday stole the band leader's car in which it was stored.

Band director Joe Pacheco put out a plea for witnesses on radio this morning, hoping to recover the 2000 gold and tan Honda Civic stolen from his home parking stall.

The tuba — a Miraphone, about 20 years old — was donated by a member of the Royal Hawaiian Band, Pacheco said.

The tuba was in good shape but needed a little work on sticky valves, Pacheco said; he had placed it in the trunk of his car on Saturday to be transported to a repair shop on Monday.

But Monday morning on his way to work the car was missing from his assigned stall at his townhouse, 95-723 Lanikuhana Ave.

"We have enough tubas, but we rarely get a professional tuba," Pacheco said. "The kids really feel the difference.

"It was neat to have one like this," he added. "But no more."

Guest attacks 3 in Waipahu home

A woman and two male guests at her Waipahu home were hurt last night when a third man, also a guest, attacked them with a hammer and a knife.

Police said the suspect, 34, argued with the female resident at 94-828 Lumiauau St., in the Fairway Village subdivision, at about 10:30 p.m. He grabbed a knife and hammer and struck the woman in the mouth with the hammer.

The suspect stabbed a 24-year-old man with the knife and hit him in the head with the hammer before turning on the third man, 30, hammering him on the ankle

He took the woman's car keys and fled in her car, police said.

LEEWARD

K-Mart cashier questioned in theft case

Police detained a cashier at K-Mart in Kapolei yesterday when he rang up a computer system for a customer and charged him only $4.

Store security saw the suspect, a 24-year-old man, ring up the computer, override the original, undisclosed price and then enter $4 as the price.

The customer, who has not yet been detained in connection with the crime, attempted to leave the store with the computer; security officials stopped him and recovered the computer before calling police.

The incident is being investigated as a second-degree theft case.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Fire destroys Pahoa home

A fire destroyed a home in the Tiki Gardens subdivision of Pahoa just after midnight today, and Big Island fire officials this morning had not located the owner of the single-family dwelling.

The alarm sounded at 12:04 a.m., but by the time the firefighters arrived on the scene on King Kamehameha Road, the one-story structure already had collapsed. The fire was extinguished at 12:24 a.m.

Inspectors are investigating the cause of the fire; damages were set at $45,000.

Woman burned in propane accident

A leaky propane bottle in an external water-heater shed exploded yesterday and caused a fire at a Waipouli home, near Kapa'a.

Kaua'i firefighters responded to the 4:10 p.m. alarm; the fire was extinguished at 4:21 p.m.

The woman who lives in the home was near the shed when the bottle exploded, and she was treated for burns, fire officials said.