Critical crash hospitalizes motorcyclist

A 36-year-old Waipahu man was in critical condition yesterday after he crashed his motorcycle on the H-3 Freeway on the Halawa side of the Harano Tunnel.

At 12:56 p.m., the man was reportedly speeding in the Halawa-bound lane when he lost control and crashed his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which slid into a white truck, said Honolulu police Vehicular Homicide Section Sgt. Alan Vegas.

The man, who was alone and not wearing a helmet, was taken in critical condition to the Queen's Medical Center. No one else was injured.

Police closed the left lane of the H-3 Freeway for about two hours to investigate the crash.

High surf overwhelms 2 who are later rescued

Big Island firefighters rescued two distressed swimmers in heavy surf yesterday off the Kona Coast.

About 2:35 p.m., a 57-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman jumped off a cliff into the ocean at the end of Alii Drive in Keauhou, said Big Island fire Capt. Ren Victorino. The area is lined with cliffs and the only way out is up the cliffside, he said.

The two grew tired while trying to climb out in high surf and the man became unresponsive as the woman tried to help, he said.

A fire helicopter picked up the pair, who were taken to Kona Community Hospital. The man was in critical condition and the woman in serious condition, Victorino said.

A high-surf warning was in effect for the west shores of the Big Island yesterday.

Police investigate fight involving box cutters

Police arrested a 35-year-old Hono-lulu man after a fight in a Punchbowl neighborhood that culminated in him cutting three people in their 20s with a box cutter, but he was released pending further investigation.

The three victims—two men and a woman—got into a physical confrontation with the suspect around 1 a.m. yesterday over the way he was “;looking”; at them, according to a police report. As two men, ages 22 and 23, struck the 35-year-old man, he pulled out a box cutter and cut them and the 22-year-old woman who was with them.

The altercation took place on Spencer Street, off Ward Avenue, on the slopes of Punchbowl. The victims did not know the suspect. The suspect had no prior arrest record.

Kalihi pedestrian victim dies of injuries Friday

A 65-year-old pedestrian who was injured in a motor vehicle accident Thursday night in Kalihi died Friday morning.

Police said the woman was struck by a car at 7:45 p.m. Thursday on Kamehameha IV Road near the intersection of Lakoloa Place.

She was taken in critical condition to the Queen's Medical Center.

Police said she died at 4:45 a.m. Friday from her injuries.

The medical examiner had not yet released the woman's identity last night.