Police Beat
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Makakilo boy dies of crash injuries
A 15-year-old Makakilo boy died yesterday from injuries he suffered in a single-car crash Friday on Makakilo Drive.
Police said the teenager was a back-seat passenger of a 1987 Honda Accord sedan driven by a 17-year-old Makakilo girl. The car was heading south at about 8:29 p.m. Friday when the driver lost control of the vehicle, which went onto a raised traffic island and hit a tree about 215 feet south of Nohohale Street.
There were two other passengers; a 16-year-old girl in the front seat and a 14-year-old boy in the back seat, both also from Makakilo, police said.
All four were taken in serious condition to The Queen's Medical Center, where one of the boys died 5:30 a.m. Saturday.
Speed appears to be a factor, police said.
It was the 30th traffic death on O'ahu this year compared with 25 a year ago.
Swimmers rescued off Makapu'u
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel rescued four swimmers yesterday from waters off Makapu'u after they had been reported missing.
The tourists — a woman and three men — were trying to swim from Sandy Beach to the Makapu'u Lighthouse, where a pace boat was scheduled to meet them, a Coast Guard official said.
When the swimmers didn't show up, the boat party notified the Coast Guard, which launched a helicopter to search.
The helicopter found the group in rough waters, "huddled and waving," the official said. Rescuers dispatched a vessel to pick up the swimmers.
The swimmers were in the water from about 6:30 a.m. until 11:05 a.m. There were no injuries.
Big Island hit-run witnesses sought
HILO, Hawai'i — Police are asking the public for information about an apparent hit-and-run fatality early Friday on the Mamalahoa Highway near Nani Waimea in South Kohala.
Police have still not confirmed the identity of the dead woman, who was found shortly before 4:05 a.m.
South Kohala police said the woman appeared to have been run over by a vehicle, and suffered severe head injuries.
She was taken to the Kona Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m..
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are investigating the death, and anyone with information is Officer Martin Ellazar at (808) 326-4646; Sergeant Leroy Victorino at 961-2332; or the police non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 if their call leads to an arrest or indictment.
Kailua, Kona crash kills 84-year-old
An 84-year-old Kailua, Kona man died Friday in a two-car crash at the intersection of Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway and Hinalani Street in Kailua.
Big Island police said Robert Windsor was a passenger of a 2000 Ford sedan driven by his wife, 81-year-old Audrey Windsor. She was trying to make a left turn off the highway onto Hinalani Street when the car collided with a 1993 Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Keawe Dousett, 43, of Kailua-Kona.
Windsor was taken to the Kona Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:43 p.m.
Big Island police prepare 20-cell jail
HILO, Hawai'i — The Hawai'i County Police Department dedicated its new 20-cell East Hawaii Detention Facility Friday on the grounds of the Public Safety Complex in Hilo.
Police Chief Lawrence K. Mahuna said the $4.3 million facility will give the Police Department in Hilo enough room to hold pre-arraignment detainees adequately for the first time since the state made the counties responsible for that chore in 1994.
The present holding facilities at the Hilo Police Department have only five cells.
The new facility was financed with grant money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the county Office of Housing and Community Development.
Correction: A male passenger injured in a collision Friday on Makakilo Drive is 14 years old. An item in a previous version of these briefs reported the wrong age.
