Man hurt trying to stop van theft with his body
A 50-year-old man was dragged across a Honolulu Community College parking lot in Kapalama yesterday in an attempt to stop someone from allegedly stealing his van.
The case is being investigated as an attempted murder.
A witness reported that the van was leaving the parking lot while the man hung onto the driver's door.
Police said the man went in and out of consciousness at the lot near the Kapalama Canal at about 2:40 p.m.
The man, who suffered head and leg injuries, was upgraded from critical to serious condition at the Queen's Medical Center.
Police received conflicting reports about the suspect. The man said the driver was a male, while the witness reported a female was the driver.
Police are looking for the van, which they said is "white and covered with stickers." A vehicle model is under investigation.
"I was surprised the gate to the college lot was open," said Carl Heu, who returned to work at the same time police arrived. "It's usually closed when school is out."
Although college is not in session, the parking lot gate is supposed to be closed but is usually left open by faculty, a campus security guard said.
Heu, who is a plumber for the adjacent state maintenance facility, reported that he had seen the victim lying face up next to the lot's guard shack.
Heu's friend, who is an electrician at the facility, was the first to help the man and stayed until paramedics arrived, treated the victim and took him to the hospital. His friend was unavailable to comment.