Driver held in case of hit-run

By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer

Police said yesterday they have made an arrest in a hit-and-run case involving three pedestrians who were visiting from Long Beach, Calif., Saturday night in Kapahulu.

Police said they are seeking charges against a 47-year-old man who was arrested yesterday morning for failing to render aid to the injured tourists.

Six people, including a child and an elderly woman in a wheelchair, were crossing Date Street at Kapahulu Avenue Saturday night when a van ran into three of them at about 8:30 p.m., said Honolulu police Sgt. Alan Vegas.

The injured were taken to The Queen's Medical Center. A 6-year-old boy was admitted in good condition, while a 29-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman were listed in serious, guarded condition, Vegas said.

A 14-year-old boy at the scene called police on his cell phone and reported the van's license plate number.

Police found the van at Kaimuki High School shortly after the accident. The boy identified the van for police.

The boy, a freshman at Kaimuki, had just finished playing basketball at the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai'i at about 8:20 p.m. and was headed makai into the crosswalk at Date Street.

He said the pedestrians had the green light when the van made a left turn from Kapahulu and hit them.

"It happened so fast," the boy said. "I could only see a blur. The mom, grandma and a boy were in a stretcher. The dad, daughter and the little boy were still walking."

On Friday night an elderly man was taken to Queen's in critical condition after a car hit him while he was walking across Farrington Highway in Nanakuli.

The man was not in a crosswalk when he was hit near Mohihi Street, police said.

No information on his condition was available yesterday.

Reach Allison Schaefers at aschaefers@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.