Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Road rage leads to crash, arrest
An apparent road rage incident in McCully yesterday led to a two-car collision and the arrest of a 32-year-old man.
Police said the incident began at 4:20 p.m. when two motorists got into an argument in traffic. The 32-year-old motorist then rammed his car into the victim's car, causing both to crash near the intersection of Kapi'olani Boulevard and Pa'ani Street.
The victim, a 31-year-old man, identified the other motorist, who was arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal property damage. No one was was hurt.
Short-circuit triggers blaze
An electrical short-circuit at a Verizon Hawai'i switching station last night triggered a two-alarm fire call and caused police to close a section of Farrington Highway near Nanakuli.
Eight fire companies responded to the 7:11 p.m. fire call at 89-210 Farrington Highway. Nanakuli Fire Capt. Clem Hew said a fuel pump that feeds a generator had short-circuited and caused thick, black smoke to drift into the air.
Verizon maintenance workers arrived at about 8 p.m. and shut down the equipment, Hew said. No phone service was affected and no one was hurt, said Verizon spokeswoman Ann Nishida. The operation finished just before 9 p.m.
Police originally closed both directions of Farrington Highway for about 20 minutes to make room for fire trucks, but police gradually re-opened some lanes when the fire trucks moved.
Waialua driver dies in two-vehicle crash
A 61-year-old Waialua woman died yesterday morning when her car was broadsided by a pickup truck, police said.
The woman's Saturn sedan was struck at about 6:10 a.m. as she attempted a left turn from Naluahi Street onto Farrington Highway in Waialua. She died at the scene.
The driver of the pickup, a 31-year-old Mililani man, was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition. Police said the truck was speeding.
Woman sought in bank robbery
Police were searching for a 44-year-old woman wanted for questioning in a robbery of the main branch of Bank of Hawaii on March 11.
Police want to talk to Monalin Rogers about the bank robbery at 111 S. King Street. Police said a woman entered the bank at 12:40 p.m., approached the teller and displayed a handgun. She fled with an undisclosed amount of money.
Police said Rogers frequents the downtown and Chinatown areas. She is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 160 pounds and has a medium build. She has black wavy hair and a tan complexion.
Call robbery detective Gordon Makishima at 529-3357 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cell phone.
Teacher on trial in sex-assault case
The trial of a Mililani Middle School teacher accused of sexually assaulting two seventh-grade girls last year began in Circuit Court yesterday with the prosecution contending that Allan Sagayaga improperly touched the two girls.
Sagayaga was charged with two counts of third-degree sexual assault in the case. One of the girls reported an alleged incident to authorities in February 2001, the same day she said it took place, while the second girl came forward the following month after seeing media reports about the first girl's complaint.
Sagayaga has pleaded not guilty. Trial continues today before Circuit Judge Michael Town.
