After seeing the police, the driver reportedly tried to turn the stolen vehicle around and blew a tire. Quilausing and a second person tried to escape by running into a lava field, police said. Two other people escaped in a second car, police said.

Police arrested Quilausing in the lava field, but couldn't find the second person.

Quilausing is being held in the Kona police cellblock pending further investigation. Police said he is believed to have stolen vehicles in Puna, Hilo, South Kohala and Kona.

Lyssa Sakamoto, 32, who police said is Quilausing's girlfriend, was also arrested and charged with hindering prosecution. Sakamoto allegedly took Quilausing to Waimea and rented a hotel room for him there, police said.

Wai'anae girl sexually assaulted

Police are investigating the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl in Wai'anae.

The victim and her family were at a community center Thursday when a stranger lured her away about 9 p.m., police said. The girl told police she was taken to a nearby vacant lot and sexually assaulted.

When family members noticed she was missing, they searched the area and found her in the lot, police said. The assailant remains unknown and police are trying to put together a composite sketch.

Motorist suffers critical injuries

An 18-year-old woman was in critical condition yesterday morning at The Queen's Medical Center after her car slammed into a utility pole late Thursday, police said.

Police traffic investigators said the woman was driving her 1995 Acura south on 10th Avenue about 11:15 p.m. when she lost control and hit a utility pole at the intersection of Kiwila Street.

Police said speed was a factor.

Victims of crime remembered

Victims of crime and their survivors were honored yesterday during a special tribute at Honolulu Hale.

Dennis Dunn, director of the Honolulu prosecutor's Victim Witness Kokua Services, told the 40 people gathered for the tribute that "the path to justice begins with victims' rights."

Behind him, arrayed on five panels, volunteers had pinned paper slippers each of which bore the name of a victim and the crime committed. There were more than 300 in all.

"The scales of Lady Justice need to be balanced," he said. "But the victims have rights. The rights of victims, as well as the accused, need to be observed."

This was the 19th year that the observance was held, Dunn said.

Teanna Shanahan, victim services advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Hawai'i, said tributes like the one yesterday are important for families whose grieving lasts for years.

"It is really important for survivors that their loved one is remembered because after the tragedy occurs, people get out of touch with the grieving," she said.

Man pulled from ocean dies

A 41-year-old man died after he was found unconscious in waters off Diamond Head Beach yesterday afternoon. Police said surfers found the man floating face-down at about 4:15 p.m. The surfers brought the man to shore and an ambulance took him to Straub Clinic and Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name was not released last night. An autopsy will be conducted.

29-year-old faces robbery charge

A 29-year-old man was charged yesterday with one count of first-degree robbery in connection with a home invasion Thursday in Pearl City.

Jay K. Padayao was being held last night on $75,000 bail. In addition to the robbery charge, police said Padayao also has been indicted on a federal firearms count.

On Thursday, a man told police he heard a knock on the door to his home at Ho'ohulu and Ho'ohale streets at about 3:15 a.m. His friend opened the door and saw a woman standing just outside the home, police said. Then a man with a handgun stepped from behind the woman and forced his way into the home. The woman then left.

While in the home, the man, identified by police as Padayao, held the two men captive and demanded money. The gunman eventually allowed the homeowner's friend to leave and the friend called police on a cell phone.

Arriving officers said they found the 32-year-old woman in a parked car and arrested her after a small amount of drugs and a sawed-off shotgun were found in the vehicle. Charges against her are pending.