Police Beat
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Motorcyclist hurt skidding into truck
A 22-year-old motorcycle rider was in critical condition yesterday after he lost control and slid into an oncoming pickup truck on Waipahu Street, Honolulu police said.
The motorcyclist, from Waipahu, was wearing a helmet and reflective vest when the crash occurred about 1:30 p.m. But inexperience may have been a factor as he tried to navigate a turn 253 feet west of Waipahu Depot Road, traffic investigators said.
Both the 1998 red Suzuki motorcycle and then the rider collided with a 1985 Toyota truck traveling the opposite direction on Waipahu Street. The 22-year-old driver of the truck and his 21-year-old male passenger were not hurt. They were wearing seat belts, police said.
The motorcycle rider was taken to The Queen's Medical Center.
Boat aground; no one injured
A 35-foot cabin cruiser with two people aboard ran aground near the Ke'ehi Lagoon side of the Honolulu airport's reef runway yesterday in choppy waters.
The boat got into trouble around 1:30 p.m. but no one was injured. A passing boater took the occupants to a Coast Guard ship.
Grease blamed for drive-in fire
A fire, apparently from discarded cooking oil, caused $6,000 in damage to the kitchen of the Wai'anae L&L Drive-Inn on Farrington Highway early yesterday morning, Honolulu fire officials said.
The blaze was reported at 4:10 a.m. and fire crews who began arriving 10 minutes later had it out at 4:35 a.m. The restaurant incurred $5,000 in structural damage and another $1,000 to the contents, said Fire Capt. Scott Lawton.
In rare instances, Lawton said, discarded cooking oil can combust under certain conditions.
Man, 41, caught in locked club
A 41-year-old man was caught trying to escape with money he had taken just after Club By Me had closed at 2 a.m. yesterday, police said.
The club was locked when a security alarm sounded at 2:15 a.m., police said.
Police searched the club and found the man inside, trying to escape. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary.
Volcano weather favors firefighters
VOLCANO, Hawai'i — Cooler temperatures and light mist yesterday assisted crews battling a brushfire at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the National Park Service said.
Two separate fires have scorched 5,000 acres on the western edge of Kilauea within the park, officials said.
Four helicopters are being used to drop water on the perimeter of the fire to contain the blaze and to protect the forests.
"It takes just a small breeze and the forest understory begins to flame," firefighter Kupono McDaniel said.
Additional fire crews from Mendocino National Forest in California were scheduled to arrive today to assist Volcano firefighters.
The fires were sparked by flowing lava last week and have picked up in recent days because of dry, hot weather conditions.
No structures or visitors were threatened.
Ka'anapali blaze called suspicious
LAHAINA, Maui — Fire officials are investigating a blaze at a water sports rental business on Ka'anapali Beach.
The Maui Beach Club went up in flames early Friday, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage and burning equipment such as surfboards and kayaks.
Scotty Martin, the manager, said seven surfboards were missing and assumed stolen.
Martin said that there has been some opposition to his business from other nearby competitors and that three residents of the area recently filed a lawsuit against the business.
David Flavin, the owner of the business, said he had received a threatening phone call Thursday from a Ka'anapali beach competitor who wanted him to move out.
Fire inspector Val Martin ruled out a short circuit as a cause of the fire.
