Driver in crash had no license
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Palolo Valley man whose pickup truck plowed into a group of pedestrians Wednesday on a Waikiki sidewalk has no valid driver's license.
According to police records, 62-year-old Joseph Puuohau Jr.'s Hawai'i driver's license expired Dec. 1, 2000, and was revoked.
Police records show that on April 28 of this year, Puuohau was driving his son Jared's black 2003 GMC Sonoma pickup truck when it was broadsided at 1:45 p.m. by a Volkswagen Jetta at the intersection of 12th Avenue and Maunalei Avenue near Diamond Head Health Center.
Puuohau was cited by police for driving with a license that had been revoked or suspended.
His appearance in traffic court yesterday for the April 28 case was postponed because Puuohau is at The Queen's Medical Center with injuries suffered in Wednesday's crash. Puuohau's son, Jared, appeared on behalf of his father and asked that the case be continued. It was rescheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 30.
Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center records also show that Puuohau was convicted in January 1998 for drunken driving, a petty misdemeanor.
The DUI arrest occurred on Oct. 13, 1997. Puuohau was sentenced to pay a $150 fine. Court records show Puuohau was stopped initially in the DUI case for not obeying lane markings and was determined to be driving under the influence of alcohol. He was not involved in a collision in that case.
On Wednesday, Puuohau was driving a rented 2004 Ford F150 pickup truck that veered across four lanes of Kalakaua Avenue at 4:27 p.m. The truck was rented to a relative of Puuohau.
The truck bumped the right rear of a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu, driven by a 46-year-old Arizona firefighter, as it headed toward the makai sidewalk. The truck went onto the sidewalk near the Sheraton Moana Surfrider and struck four tourists from Japan and three visitors from California. The pickup truck also hit three brochure stands, severed a fire hydrant and plowed over two trash cans before slamming into a police officer's parked 2000 Toyota 4-Runner.
Hikari Ishiyama, a 24-year-old newlywed from Japan, was killed. She is survived by her husband, Hiroyuki Ishiyama, of Kusatsu, Japan, who was also struck by the truck. He was treated and released.
Of the six people injured, two remain hospitalized. Both are from Japan. A man, 35, is at Straub Hospital & Clinic while a woman, 30, is at Queen's in serious and stable condition.
Police have opened a negligent homicide investigation. Investigators are seeking to question Puuohau to determine if he lost consciousness before the truck veered off.
Advertiser staff writers David Waite and Vicki Viotti contributed to this report.
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
