Kauai man dies after SUV burns following crash

A Kauai man died late Thursday night after his sport utility vehicle burst into flames after crashing into a tree along Kaumualii Highway.

The man was driving westbound at 11:37 p.m. when he hit the tree, just west of Halfway Bridge, police said yesterday.

The driver was unable to escape his vehicle after it caught fire, police said. The fire also spread to the brush around the vehicle.

Man leads police on 20-mile chase on Kauai; cars are hit

A Kapaa man led police on a 20-mile car chase from Kalaheo to Kapaa yesterday morning, colliding with several vehicles and hitting signs along the road, a county news release said.

The 29-year-old man entered a Kalaheo yoga studio at 9:20 a.m. wearing rags on his face and wielding a machete, police said. He allegedly attempted to steal a purse in the studio, but members of the yoga class tackled the suspect and retrieved the purse.

The man fled the building, got into a car and drove onto Kaumualii Highway. Police chased him until Kapaa, where he finally came to a stop and was arrested. No injuries were initially reported, a county spokesman said.

Biker critically hurt, speed blamed in offramp accident

Speed was a factor in an accident that critically injured a man when the motorcycle he was riding crashed on the Wilder Avenue offramp of the westbound H-1 freeway, police said.

The 43-year-old Honolulu man was taken to the Queen's Medical Center, authorities said.

The motorcycle lost control on the right-bending turn and fell onto the road, skidding into a wooden utility pole at about 5:25 p.m. yesterday, forcing the temporary closure of traffic of the offramp until just after 7 p.m., police said.

Big Island fatal motorcycle wreck under investigation

Big Island police are investigating the death of a man who died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash on Kealakehe Parkway a half mile east of Queen Kaahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona.

Witnesses said Keahi N. Kamehaiku, 25, of Kailua-Kona was speeding when he passed a vehicle, struck a curb and lost control Wednesday night, police said.

Kamehaiku was pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital at 10:25 p.m. Wednesday, a little more than two hours after the report of the crash.

Bank robbery suspect caught after leaving ID

Prosecutors charged a 48-year-old man with no local address for allegedly robbing the Central Pacific Bank in Moiliili.

Gregg Inoshita was being held without bail last night on a bank robbery charge.

Inoshita was arrested in Waikiki at 8:50 p.m. Thursday for the Thursday afternoon robbery.

Police said the robber apparently left his state ID card behind after handing the teller a demand note.