POLICE BEAT
Soldier killed in motorcycle crash
Advertiser Staff
A 23-year-old Schofield Barracks man was killed yesterday after losing control of his motorcycle on Westlock Road shortly after midnight, police said.
While traveling south moments before the 12:30 a.m. crash, the man passed another motorist, police said. That motorist said the motorcycle, a 2005 silver Kawasaki, was traveling fast.
The motorcyclist lost control on a blind curve and slid sideways into a concrete block, police said. The motorcycle broke in two, and the driver was thrown into an overgrown brushy area. He was not wearing a helmet and suffered fatal head wounds.
Police said speed was likely a factor in the accident, which occurred on a rainy night, but have not determined whether alcohol played a role.
CARPORT FIRE DAMAGES HOME
An early morning fire yesterday that started in an 'Aina Haina carport displaced five people, caused more than $100,000 damage to a house, destroyed one car and damaged another.
The house had no functioning smoke alarm, said Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada, but the owner awoke and discovered the blaze shortly after 4 a.m.
He woke his wife and they got everyone safely out of the home, Tejada said.
The couple, two adult daughters and a granddaughter lived in the house at 215 West Halemaumau Drive, Tejada said.
The Red Cross helped them find temporary housing.
Tejada said the fire spread from the carport and into two rooms of the house.
The cause of that fire and a fire on Friday at 94-836 Lumikuke Loop were under investigation last night. The Lumikuke Loop fire caused at least $200,000 in damage, Tejada said.
CAR ACCIDENT KILLS LANA'I MAN
A 26-year-old Lana'i man was killed early yesterday in a single-car accident.
Police said Boyd Dean Walker Jr. was pronounced dead at Lana'i Community Hospital at 5:17 a.m.
The crash occurred about 4:15 a.m. on Manele Highway just north of Manele Service Road, police said.
Walker was driving a 1967 green Ford military vehicle and failed to negotiate a sharp right turn. The vehicle overturned onto the driver's side, coming to rest on the left shoulder of the road.
Three adult passengers were taken to Lana'i Community Hospital, treated for minor injuries and released.
Police suspect alcohol was involved. Seat belts did not appear to have been worn, they said.
THREE-CAR CRASH INJURES TWO
Two people were injured, one of them critically, after a three-car accident on the Big Island yesterday.
Hawai'i police closed Route 19 — the Hawai'i Belt Road — for hours yesterday after the 9:35 a.m. wreck. It reopened shortly before 3 p.m.
Police said a 1997 Geo was traveling west on Hawai'i Belt Road when it crossed the center line near the 50-mile marker and collided head-on with a 2006 Pontiac sedan.
A 2005 Chevrolet multipurpose vehicle, also traveling east, ran into the rear of the Pontiac.
A 19-year-old Waimea man, a passenger in the Geo, was flown by fire department helicopter to Hilo Medical Center in critical condition. He was later flown to The Queen's Medical Center.
The driver of the Geo, a 16-year-old Waimea girl, was taken to North Hawai'i Community Hospital, where she was listed in satisfactory condition.
Four people in the Pontiac, a Colorado couple and their daughters, were treated for minor injuries.
Four people in the Chevrolet, a California couple and their two sons, were not hurt.
Police said they have opened a negligent injury investigation.
They said yesterday they did not know if speed or alcohol were factors in the crash.
