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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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MAN FRACTURES LEG WHILE
HIKING CHINAMAN'S HAT
He is in guarded condition after
being airlifted from the island
ABRAHAM MARKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN
A man was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in guarded condition yesterday after he fractured his left leg while hiking at Chinaman's Hat (Mokolii). Capt. Emmit Kane, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department, said the man, in his 20s, was hiking with his companion on the makai side of the island and fell 75 to 100 feet at about noon. Kane said the hiker's companion kayaked to Kualoa Regional Park and called 911. Air One transported the victim from the island to the park, where he was met by EMS. He was then medevaced to Queen's. Wayne Kruse, field operations supervisor of the Emergency Medical Services, said the hiker was responsive but might have suffered a head injury.
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More H-1 closures set for early February
The state Department of Transportation has rescheduled overnight H-1 freeway closings to next Monday and Feb. 7.
The freeway will be closed between Halawa and Pearl City from 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. Work crews need to install expansion joints and new freeway signs related to the H-1 widening project.
The DOT also is working on a public-private partnership to create a new H-1 Kapolei Interchange in the heart of Oahu's second city. The interchange is expected to provide motorists another way in and out of Kapolei from Kamokila Boulevard at Wakea Street and bypass traffic fronting Kapolei Shopping Center.
Plans also include a new westbound onramp at the nearby H-1 Makakilo Interchange.
The state's partner in the project is Kapolei Property Development LLC, an affiliate of the Estate of James Campbell. KPD is contributing the land and spending more than $2 million for the planning and design of the onramp, offramp and flyover for the Kapolei Interchange.
The state plans to use KPD's contribution as its share to secure federal matching funds to pay for the construction. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the end of the year.
Whale count draws 650-plus volunteers
More than 650 volunteers gathered on Hawaii shores Saturday to count endangered humpback whales and monitor their behavior. The whales migrate to the state's waters during the winter to breed, calve and nurse.
The National Marine Sanctuary recruits volunteers each year to count the whales from lookout points at Hanauma Bay and 60 other spots around the state.
Now in its 11th year, the program is used to corroborate whale population data gathered by scientists.
Saturday's effort did not produce a clear number about how many whales were swimming in Hawaii waters.
Those figures will not be available until the fall, when the sightings from Saturday are analyzed together with other whale count data. Two more observation days are scheduled this year on Feb. 25 and March 25.
Studies have shown that Hawaii's humpback whale population has been rising at an annual rate of about 7 percent in the last 10 years.
Hawaii waters provide critical breeding habitats for an estimated 5,000 whales, or about two-thirds of the North Pacific stock of humpback whales.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Motorcyclist, 36, dies after running off road
A 36-year-old Paauilo man died yesterday after a motorcycle crash in Waimea, Big Island police said.
At about 11:29 a.m. the man was traveling south on Route 190 on a 1978 Suzuki motorcycle when he ran off the right side of the road and slammed into a sign near the 1-mile marker. He was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital, where he died at 12:07 p.m.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Police said the 36-year-old man was identified through fingerprints, but officers have not been able to locate his next of kin. Police are asking those who might know the motorcyclist or witnessed the crash to call Officer Eric Cerezo of the Traffic Enforcement Unit at 326-4646, ext. 229.
The traffic fatality is the fourth on the Big Island this year, compared with five at the same time in 2005.
Witnesses say hiker dislodged deadly rock
Police said a 25-year-old hiker who was fatally crushed Saturday by a boulder was climbing on the rock before his death.
Earlier reports said the man had been lying or crouching near the boulder when it moved, but police said yesterday that witnesses told them the man had been climbing on the boulder when it apparently was dislodged and rolled over him.
The boulder was believed to weigh between 1,000 and 2,500 pounds and measure at least 4 feet in diameter.
The accident happened at about 2:46 p.m. near Lelekea Bay at Haleakala National Park. According to a Maui Police Department news release, the man was hiking about a half-mile up from Hana Highway.
WINDWARD OAHU
Woman hurt at falls is airlifted to hospital
A woman in her mid-20s was airlifted out of Maunawili Falls Saturday after apparently injuring her back when she jumped into the water.
The incident happened at about 4:40 p.m.
Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said the woman, who was with a group of students from Brigham Young University-Hawaii, had no visible injuries but was complaining of back pain after jumping into the falls.
The Fire Department's Air One helicopter flew the woman to a nearby hospital. Her condition was not immediately available.
HONOLULU
Police seek man over threats at Farrington
Police are looking for a man who allegedly threatened a 17-year-old with an aluminum baseball bat in the parking lot of Farrington High School and then stole his car.
The incident happened at about 9 p.m. Thursday when the 17-year-old drove into the parking lot, where six men were gathered.
As the victim tried to turn around and leave, a man allegedly approached his vehicle, put a baseball bat in the victim's open window and threatened to beat him up. The 17-year-old got out of the car and ran.
The vehicle was later recovered in a different parking lot at the school.
Gunfire incident leads to charges for felon
A 34-year-old convicted felon arrested Thursday after allegedly shooting at another man and three girls in December has been charged with attempted murder, police said.
Francis Kekona is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. The shooting, apparently spurred by a love triangle, happened on Dec. 27 fronting the Waimalu Safeway at 98-1277 Kaahumanu St.
Police said a man was following his ex-girlfriend as she drove in the Pearl City area when Kekona, who was in her car, confronted him.
Police said Kekona then pulled out a gun and shot at the man and the woman's three daughters -- ages 7, 10 and 12 -- who were also in his car.
No one was injured.
Kekona has prior convictions for robbery, theft and assault.
Man held in burglary at Kamehameha dorm
A 32-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly burglarized two separate dorm rooms at Kamehameha Schools and attempted to cash a stolen check, police said.
At about 1 a.m. Sunday, the suspect allegedly burglarized the dorm rooms of two 28-year-old men. Police said the man then forged a check he stole from one of the men's dorms and attempted to cash it.
A bank teller made a copy of both the suspect's identification card and the check before giving them back to the suspect.
The suspect fled and later told his brother what he had done.
Police said the suspect's brother recovered the stolen items, including the forged check. He turned over his brother and the items to police.
The 32-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of two counts of first-degree burglary and forgery in the first degree.
Police seek gunman in robbery at 7-Eleven
Police are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store at gunpoint yesterday.
At about 12:01 a.m. yesterday, police said, a cashier at the 7-Eleven store at 1221 Piikoi St. was about to ring up a shopper's items when he pointed a handgun at her and demanded money and cigarettes.
Police said the man fled the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. A description of the suspect was not available.