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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Civil Defense sirens to be tested
State Civil Defense will conduct its monthly tests of warning sirens and the Emergency Alert System tomorrow at 11:45 a.m.
The siren test is the attention/alert signal, a steady 45-second tone used to alert the public to any emergency that may pose a threat to life and property.
Tests of civil defense sirens and the Emergency Alert System are conducted simultaneously, usually on the first working day of the month.
Drunken driver had near-lethal toxic level
HILO » A Big Island man recently sentenced to prison for five years for drunken driving had nearly enough alcohol in him to kill, the Hawaii County Prosecutor's office announced.
Circuit Judge Glenn Hara sentenced William E. Parsons, 46, of Waikoloa, for habitually operating a motor vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, the prosecutor said.
The "habitual" law goes into effect if a person is driving under the influence of liquor and already has three or more convictions for the offense, prosecutor said.
Parsons had three prior convictions on Oahu and was free on bail on a fourth drunken driving charge when he was arrested on the Big Island in 2003 for what amounted to a fifth offense.
He had a blood alcohol level of .361, more than four and a half time the legal limit of .08., the prosecutor said. A level of .40 is enough to kill about half the people who reach that level.
UH shuttle service expands and adds fare
The new University of Hawaii at Manoa off-campus Rainbow Shuttle is expanding its service from five nights a week to seven nights and will start charging for the rides.
Students who already have the U-PASS for city bus service can ride the Rainbow Shuttle at no additional charge.
But beginning tonight, other students will need to have a shuttle sticker on their UH ID cards to continue to ride to Waikiki, Ala Moana, the Ward shopping and entertainment complex and Restaurant Row. The stickers are on sale at the UH parking office for $20 to cover the remainder of the semester.
UH-Manoa student housing residents are also being given a questionnaire about shuttle usage. The answers will help determine if the service will continue next semester.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
2 women pulled unconscious from fire
Maui firefighters pulled two women from a burning house in Wailuku yesterday morning.
Firefighters were called to the home at about 10:32 a.m. and arrived six minutes later, Battalion Chief David Kamalani said.
The women were unconscious and unresponsive in a bedroom of the wooden one-story home at 347 Momi Place, Kamalani said.
They suffered smoke inhalation and burns and were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, he said. Kamalani said he did not know their conditions.
The fire was brought under control by 11:40 a.m. and extinguished by noon. The cause is under investigation and damage is estimated at $150,000.
Dad arrested in death of 3-month-old son
Police arrested Lionel Letoto on Friday after a grand jury indicted him Sept. 20 for allegedly killing his 3-month-old son in November 2005.
Letoto, 50, is charged with second-degree murder for the death of Noah Williams at their Pensacola Street apartment.
Medical examiners concluded the baby died of "asphyxia due to suffocation by pillow and comforter," and that the manner of death was homicide.
Letoto was still in custody yesterday on $100,000 bail. He is expected to appear in court tomorrow.
Car hit pedestrians after running red light
Police said a 2000 blue four-door Ford ran a red light before hitting two women walking in a marked crosswalk on Nimitz Highway on Friday night.
The pedestrians, ages 69 and 40, were taken to the Queen's Medical Center. The older woman had critical injuries and the other had minor injuries, police said.
The accident happened near Ahua Street about 8:15 p.m. The women were in an illuminated area and had a signal to cross, police reported.
Speed and alcohol apparently were not factors in the collision, police said.
The 21-year-old man driving the car that hit the women stopped to render aid after the crash.
Woman rescued after falling off Aiea trail
The Honolulu Fire Department rescued a 61-year-old woman who fell off a trail while hiking in Aiea Heights yesterday.
Fire Capt. Sigmund Oka said they received a call from the woman's husband around 12:30 p.m.
Fire department rescuers brought her an area where the fire helicopter was able to lift her out of the area to Waimano Home Road and Hookiekei Street, where paramedics treated her.
The woman was taken to Tripler Army Medical Center in serious but stable condition, said Bryan Cheplic, an emergency medical services spokesman.