Posted on: Sunday, August 17, 2003

Two injured as car hits pole near La'ie; power cut

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

At least two people were injured — one of them thought to be in extremely critical condition last night — after a vehicle ran into a utility pole on Kamehameha highway near Malaekahana State Park.

Few details were available as firefighters, paramedics, police and traffic investigators sped to the area between La'ie and Kahuku shortly before 10 p.m.

Police detoured traffic from Kamehameha Highway through the state park while firefighters freed a pinned victim, paramedics tended to the injured and officers investigated the cause of the crash.

A transformer blew as the pole went down, authorities said.

Jose Dizon, a spokesman for Hawaiian Electric, said about 780 customers were without power in an area between Kahuku High School and Iosepa Street in La'ie.

The BYU-Hawai'i campus was among the electric customers without power, Dizon said.