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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
During a ceremony yesterday at the Honolulu Police Department main headquarters, nurse Liane Beckwith received a certificate of merit for helping treat officer Jeffrey Omai after he was run over in December by a van he tried to stop. After the ceremony, Omai gave Beckwith a big hug in appreciation. Yesterday was the first time they met since the incident.


Officer’s savior

Nurse Liane Beckwith is honored for helping save
Jeffrey Omai's life after he was hit by a van

The first time Liane Beckwith saw Honolulu police officer Jeffrey Omai was on Dec. 2, 2004, when he was lying unconscious in the Honolulu Community College parking lot, bleeding from his mouth and ear, and was not breathing.

Omai had just been struck by a van driven by fugitive Daniel Vesper. Beckwith ran from her vehicle despite being in the middle of traffic along Dillingham Boulevard to help. She told officers she was a registered nurse and paramedics instructor and began to stabilize Omai's neck and removed blood clots from his mouth to open up his airway.

"I was just trying to get him to breathe again," she said.

Yesterday, Beckwith got a chance to see Omai again.

During an awards ceremony at the Honolulu Police Department yesterday morning, Omai walked toward her and gave her a big hug and a lei for helping save his life.

"I'm so glad you came," Beckwith said to him as they embraced.

"I've talked to her on the phone before but never met her," Omai said. "I was in a coma for about a month."

Beckwith was awarded the Police Department's Certificate of Merit for her actions. HPD Maj. Susan Ballard said Beckwith acted "without hesitation."

"As the commanding officer and a friend ... I want to personally thank you for all you did in this life and death situation," said Ballard, who along with Omai, is assigned to the Kalihi District. "Thank you for being a credit to your profession and your caring attitude."

The man who ran over Omai was charged with first degree attempted murder and is expected to go to trial. Police said that after Vesper, 43, was arrested, officers escorting him to the Queen's Medical Center for treatment overheard him telling a nurse he had run over an officer, and hoped that he would die.

Vesper told his defense team he was hearing voices that told him what to do, but a judge ruled in May that he was competent to stand trial.

"I'm glad he's going to trial, he really did try to kill me," Omai said. "He had a choice to go one way but he hit me."

Omai, who said he still has back and hip pain, wants to return to active duty and undercover police work once his rehab is complete. In the meantime, the pain from his injuries keeps him from sleeping at night. But when he manages to sleep, he dreams about what he can't remember when he's awake.

"I still have dreams of the van hitting me," he said. "What I remember is getting out of our vehicle and running toward the van, but that's it."

Too bad you can't use dreams in court."



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