Big Island man struck, killed by officer's vehicle

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Big Island police officer driving in North Kona struck and killed a 33-year-old pedestrian early yesterday, police said.

Gregory Pluta, who lived near Kailua, Kona, was struck by a 1997 GMC sport utility vehicle traveling southbound on Ali'i Drive (Route 187) shortly after 2 a.m., police said.

The SUV was driven by officer Bryan Ellis, 29, of Kailua, Kona.

Pluta was taken to the Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hawai'i Country Traffic Enforcement officers continue to investigate the death, according to a written statement released by the police department yesterday.

Pluta's father, Gregory C. Pluta of Pahoa, said he was notified of his son's death early yesterday by an emergency room doctor who telephoned him at home.

The police had not talked directly to him, he said, and the stories he had heard about his son's death came to him from news reporters and from friends and family members his wife had called.

In their written statement, Hawai'i County police said that Ellis was on duty and on "a non-urgent response to a call for service" when he struck Pluta.

The statement did not include further information about the nature of the call, or any information about the speed of Ellis' SUV.

Pluta's father and Gwendolyn Pluta, his stepmother, said they heard that Ellis was at the head of a line of four police vehicles that had been heading out to make a drug bust.

Pluta's father said he spoke to a police lieutenant in Kona yesterday, but the officer would not discuss the incident.

Attempts to contact the police on nonemergency numbers for comment last night were unsuccessful.

"All they had to do was come and talk to us," Gwendolyn Pluta said. "They didn't even give us that courtesy."

Pluta's father said he and his son had moved to the Big Island from Milwaukee 15 years ago.

He said his son, who worked as a mechanic and on other jobs, was "a big burly guy, 6 foot tall, with blond hair and blue eyes" who "just loved people, loved to help people out."

The Plutas said they are considering hiring a lawyer to help them find out more about the circumstance that led to Gregory Pluta's death.

In December of 2001, Gabina Makil, 66, of Captain Cook, was hit and killed by on-duty officer Calvin Sasaki on Mamalahoa Highway in Kealakekua. Makil was in a crosswalk on her way to Central Kona Union Church when she was hit.

Sasaki, 53, was not responding to an emergency call at the time. After the accident, he was placed on temporary desk duty, but he later returned to work as a Kona patrol officer.

After reviewing police reports, interviewing witnesses and consulting an expert in collision reconstruction, prosecutors said a decision was made not to bring charges against Sasaki.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.