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Courtesy photo
Keoki Nicodemus died yesterday after a
van hit him and fled.

Dad-to-be
was excited about
expected son

'It's a senseless death,' says
the stepfather of hit-and-run
victim Keoki Nicodemus

---

By Rosemarie Bernardo
Star-Bulletin

Theron Keoki Nicodemus was looking forward to becoming a father.

The 21-year-old carried around an ultrasound photo, showing everybody that his girlfriend was going to have a boy, said his stepfather, Jerry Muromoto of Ewa Beach.

But Nicodemus will never see his son, expected to be born in four months.

Nicodemus, known to most as Keoki, died yesterday morning from severe head and body injuries from a traffic accident about 12:45 a.m. Wednesday in Ewa Beach. He was riding his bicycle toward Ewa Beach on the shoulder of Fort Weaver Road when a van struck him from behind.

Police said the van fled the scene. A witness described the van as a blue or dark blue Ford, similar to an Aerostar.

Police have since recovered a dark-colored van, and traffic division officers are investigating whether it was involved.

A 31-year-old Ewa Beach resident turned himself in to police this morning. He was arrested and released pending further investigation for failure to render aid and for negligent homicide.

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Police recovered this van while investigating Nicodemus' death.

"It's a senseless death," Muromoto said when he spoke to the media yesterday in a courtyard at Queen's Medical Center.

"We're not trying to get revenge or anything," Muromoto said. "All I want is some kind of closure for my wife."

Nicodemus turned 21 on Monday. Sunday he celebrated his birthday at the Aloha Las Vegas Show in Waikiki with family and friends. The party was a gift from Maria, manager of the Techno Style salon at the Outrigger Waikiki, where Nicodemus' mother, Eydie, as a cosmetologist.

"It's a very painful thing for all of us," said Maria, who did not want to give her last name.

Muromoto said Nicodemus was working as a laborer in Mapunapuna for the last two months.

Friends and family members describe him as a giving person.

"No matter what you ask of Keoki, he was there," said Cynthia Medina, a close friend of his mother's for 23 years.

Medina's daughter, Bianca, said: "Whenever I was down, he would always find a way to make me laugh. ... He was always there for me."

Nicodemus was listed as an organ donor, and Muromoto said a local girl is to receive one of his kidneys.

Anyone with accident information is asked to call police at 529-3499 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.

Contributions Assistance for the Muromoto family's expenses can be mailed to the following address until a formal account is made at a financial institution: Outrigger Waikiki c/o Techno Style Attn: Eydie Muromoto 2335 Kalakaua Ave., Suite 108 Honolulu, HI 96815