Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
Man lying on road run over, killed
A 56-year-old man who was run over by a car Thursday night while lying on Ala Moana near Coral Street is O'ahu's 53rd traffic fatality of the year.
Police responded to the accident at 11:45 p.m.
Vehicular homicide investigator Sgt. William Baldwin said a 22-year-old woman driving eastbound on Ala Moana did not see the man lying on the roadway, in part because he was wearing dark clothing. The man has no permanent local address.
KHON dismisses sports director
Alema Harrington, sports director at KHON Fox 2 since last April, was dismissed yesterday. He was not available for comment, but station manager Rick Blangiardi, who hired Harrington, said sports reporter John Veneri Jr. is taking over as sports anchor.
"John Veneri will step in; Jai Cunningham will do news and sports on the weekends," Blangiardi said. "Maybe we'll even tap Ramsay Wharton."
Harrington began at KHON on April 21.
Waipahu apartment damaged in fire
A Fire Department investigator said an electrical failure in a portable fan started a fire that damaged a two-bedroom apartment in Waipahu yesterday.
The fire was reported about 1 p.m. at a five-unit home at the end of Kahuapa'a Street, said fire spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada. Firefighters brought the blaze under control quickly, but not before it damaged one of the units, Tejada said.
A woman who lived in the apartment was not at home when the fire broke out, he said. She was being assisted last night by the American Red Cross.
The fire did an estimated $60,000 in damage to the building and its contents, Tejada said. There were no injuries.
Burglary suspect arrested again
A 19-year-old man was arrested Thursday after he allegedly tried to cash a stolen check, three days after being arrested on suspicion of burglarizing a Waikiki hotel room.
Thursday's arrest occurred at 11 a.m. after a teller at First Hawaiian Bank's Kapahulu branch confirmed that a $3,960 check the man was allegedly trying to cash was stolen. On Monday, the same man was in police custody as a suspect in a Sunday burglary at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. He and a companion were identified by hotel security surveillance tapes.
The man, however, was released pending further investigation.
Criminal Investigation Division Capt. Carlton Nishimura said the man was not charged in the burglary case because despite evidence recovered at the hotel, police were not able to tie up the loose ends within the 48-hour time frame recognized by courts for charging.
Man, 29, charged in burglary case
Police on Thursday charged Aaron Michael Togiai with breaking into a Kahuku man's home Aug. 11.
Togiai, 29, was arrested at 6 a.m. on Huehu Street in Kahuku and booked for first-degree burglary. His bail is $50,000.
According to police, Togiai forced his way into the victim's home and beat him because of a prior incident involving the victim and Togiai's sister.
Roadside phones won't work today
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Roadside emergency telephone boxes on Kaua'i will be out of service today while the systems are switched from service provided by Cingular Wireless to AT&T, the state Department of Transportation announced.
The transfer was to be completed during the day today. Call boxes will have plastic wrap on them to indicate they are out of service.
