Police car hits teen pedestrian

A police vehicle struck and injured a 14-year-old pedestrian near 'Iolani School on Thursday night.

At about 7:55 p.m. the officer was traveling north on Kamoku Street and did not see the pedestrian when he struck her, Honolulu police spokeswoman Caroline Sluyter said yesterday. The girl was in a midblock crosswalk near the exit of 'Iolani School.

She suffered a bruise on her right shoulder and was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.

The officer is assigned to East Honolulu and was on duty when the collision occurred. He has been with the police force for a little more than two years.

The Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division is investigating the accident.

Second victim, 20, of Maui crash dies

A Waihee, Maui, man died Thursday from injuries received in a Wednesday night one-car crash that also killed the driver.

Tyson Latham, 20, died at 12:30 p.m. at Maui Memorial Medical Center, police said. Latham was the front-seat passenger in the car driven by Nailima Kana, also 20 years old and from Waihee.

The accident occurred shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Kahekili Highway, about a half-mile north of Wilipohaku Street in Waihee, according to Maui police.

Kana was driving a 2004 Mazda sedan north when he crossed the center line and then drove off the right side of the road. The car hit an embankment and overturned, stopping against a tree.

A third passenger, a 17-year-old boy, was sitting in the back seat and taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Police said the trio were wearing their seat belts and that speed is suspected as a contributing factor in the crash.

The deaths were Maui County's 15th and 16th traffic fatalities of the year, compared with 14 at this time last year.

Welding project causes 15-acre blaze on Kauai

A welding project apparently caused a 15-acre brush fire yesterday in Kekaha, Kauai.

Sparks from the welding project started the blaze at about 10 a.m., a Kauai County news release said.

No one was injured and no structures were threatened.

Bystanders save man from drowning

A man nearly drowned yesterday after apparently falling off the shoreline into rough surf near Sandy Beach.

Witnesses said the man, believed to be in his 30s, fell into the water at about 2:15 p.m., said Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokesman Bryan Cheplic.

Bystanders pulled the man from the water and brought him to shore where lifeguards provided care. Paramedics took the man to the hospital in critical condition, Cheplic said.

Ocean conditions were rough in the area with 4-foot wave faces and a wind swell, Cheplic said.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Police bust 7 for underage alcohol sales

Seven people were arrested and charged on Kauai for selling alcohol to minors.

The Kauai Police Department Youth Services Section along with the Department of Liquor Control conducted compliance checks on Sept. 18-19 at businesses that are licensed to sell liquor. Nineteen business were randomly selected.

Kauai Police Assistant Chief Roy Asher said they plan to continue enforcement efforts to reduce their current failure rate of 37 percent.

An $8,000 grant was provided by the state Department of Health for the compliance checks.