Moped rider dies in hit-run on Nimitz

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

Police are seeking witnesses to a hit-and-run accident near Aloha Tower that killed a moped rider early yesterday.

The 31-year-old man was riding toward Waikiki on Nimitz Highway at 12:20 a.m. when his moped hit the side of a speeding white van, police said.

The van, possibly a Dodge Ram, ran a red light to make a left turn at the Richards Street intersection near the Hawaiian Electric Co. power plant, police said. The driver left without helping the injured man, they said.

Police said the moped rider, a Waikiki resident, died at The Queen's Medical Center at 1:34 a.m. It was the third traffic fatality on O'ahu since Sunday and the 34th of the year, compared with 36 by the same date in 2003.

According to a witness, the van has license plates starting with "BF6," and police said it should have damage to its right fender and passenger-side door.

Anyone with information on the van or its driver is asked to call Sgt. Alan Vegas at 529-3499 or leave anonymous tips at CrimeStoppers, 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.