Request led to attack, police say
Asking a driver to back up allegedly provokes a beating
Police said a man was brutally beaten Saturday because he asked a driver to move his car out of a Kapiolani Boulevard crosswalk so his wife, who wears a leg brace, could cross.
The passenger in the car, 25-year-old Maurice Nakama, was charged Wednesday with second-degree attempted murder in the man's beating, which left him with severe head and brain injuries.
Police said Alice and Murray Wallace were attempting to cross Kapiolani Boulevard at the intersection with Mahukona Street after leaving Ala Moana Center about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
They had the green light, but a car failed to stop in time and ended up in the middle of the crosswalk, police said in a written affidavit.
Murray Wallace, 45, asked the driver to reverse the car so his wife could walk in the crosswalk and avoid stepping into water. Alice Wallace, 42, was wearing a leg brace, which was not supposed to get wet, and walking around the car would have caused it to get wet, the affidavit said.
The driver, a 31-year-old man, and his passenger, Nakama, refused to move and argued with Murray Wallace.
Alice Wallace was forced to walk around the car, and the car drove off.
As the couple continued walking, the driver and Nakama returned and allegedly jumped them from behind, police said.
Nakama allegedly beat Murray Wallace and knocked him to the ground, police said. When his wife tried to stop the attack, the driver pulled her away, police said.
The driver held the woman while Nakama allegedly punched her husband repeatedly, beating him unconscious, police said.
Alice Wallace then grabbed the driver and tried to hang onto him until police arrived.
When she refused to let go, he beat her on the head, knocking her to the ground, police said.
Murray Wallace was taken by ambulance to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition, where he remains, police said.