Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Speed blamed in collision
Speed was a factor in a collision yesterday on 'Auwaiolimu Street in Punchbowl that injured two people, one of them critically, said police vehicular homicide investigator Sgt. John Agno.
The 5:19 p.m. collision involved a 2002 Toyota Highlander driven by a 17-year-old boy and a 1992 Honda Accord driven by a 60-year-old woman. Agno said the westbound Highlander appeared to have been speeding when it crossed over the center line about 258 feet west of Ho'oku'i Street and into the path of the eastbound Accord.
Firefighters had to rescue the woman motorist from her car. She was taken to The Queen's Medical Center with critical head, internal and leg injuries.
A girl, 14, who was a front-seat passenger in the Highlander, was taken to Queen's with serious internal injuries. The Highlander's driver was treated at Queen's for minor injuries.
Pair charged in cab robbery
Two of three military men arrested early Saturday morning on suspicion of robbing a 50-year-old cab driver at gunpoint in Waikiki were charged yesterday with first-degree robbery.
George E. Harris and Brandon D. Johnson, both 21, are being held in lieu of $50,000 and $25,000 bail, respectively. A third man, 20, was released pending further investigation. Witness information about the alleged 1:12 a.m. robbery on Hobron Street led to the arrest of the three men at the Saratoga Road post office at 2:50 a.m.
Man critically injured in crash
A 55-year-old Kaua'i man is in critical condition today after crashing his car last night on Kaumuali'i Highway near Hanapepe.
The man, a Waimea resident, is expected to be transferred today from Kaua'i Veterans Memorial Hospital to The Queen's Medical Center, police said.
Kaua'i traffic investigators suspect speed and alcohol are contributing factors for the crash. Police said the man's Toyota sedan veered off the roadway, struck a guardrail and ended up in a ditch 25 feet below.
Brushfire burns 5 acres on ridge
Firefighters today were battling a brushfire that had scorched about 5 acres on an isolated ridge between Makaha and Wai'anae. The fire was reported at 6:14 a.m. and posed no immediate threat to property, said HFD spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada.
Home-invasion robbery probed
Police are investigating a home-invasion robbery that allegedly occurred between 10 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 a.m. yesterday at an undisclosed 'Aiea location. Four men allegedly broke into the home and tied up a 20-year-old woman and boy, 11. One of the men had a gun, according to the victims.
The men fled with undisclosed items from the home and are still at large, police said.
