The man, who has no permanent local address, was arrested at 4 p.m. He was driving a Lexus CS300 that ran a red light at Punahou and South King streets and collided with a 2000 Dodge Neon, police said.

The driver of the Neon, a 45-year-old man, and two children in the car, an 11-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, were in serious but stable condition today at The Queen’s Medical Center, said John Agno of the police Vehicular Homicide Section.

The Lexus CS300 was reported stolen at about 3:45 p.m. by a woman who had parked the car in a lot at the corner of Philip Street and KalÅkaua Avenue with the motor running, said Honolulu police Sgt. Christopher Lowell.

The woman was running errands nearby when she noticed the man trying to take her car. She made an attempt to stop him and was hit by the car, Lowell said.

The woman was treated at the scene for minor injuries, he said.

The car thief disregarded a red light at the busy intersection of Punahou and King near the Pee Wee Drive Inn and collided with a car that was traveling east on King, Lowell said.

The man who stole the Lexus took off running, but police arrested him about a block away on Young Street, Lowell said.

Police said they are opening a negligent injury investigation against the suspect.

The collision caused the Neon to hit a light pole.

“It was like an explosion,” Manny Russo, a Punahou Street resident, said of the crash. “The sound woke me up from a nap.”