Police arrest suspect in
fatal hit-and-run collision
Acting on a tip, police arrested a 53-year-old man yesterday who they believe was driving the van that killed another man in a hit-and-run collision earlier this month.
Police arrested the suspect at 12:20 a.m. at his Aiea home on suspicion of first-degree negligent homicide and accidental death. Police also recovered the van.
Police received the tip about 10:20 Monday night after TV newscasts aired an emotional public plea by the family of Julio Duque Jr.
"I would like to thank the media and the public for their concern and assistance and their quick action in the matter," said police Sgt. Lorenzo Ridela of the Vehicular Homicide Section.
At a news conference earlier Monday, police provided a description of the suspect's vehicle. Using a grille recovered at the accident scene, investigators determined it was a 1993-95 three-door hatchback Mazda MPV van, "elegant beige" in color, also known as gold or champagne, and that it may have sustained damage to the front right side, including the headlight.
Duque was getting out of his light-blue pickup truck on Kaamilo Street in Aiea while running an errand and was struck by a gold Mazda van traveling mauka, police said. Witnesses said the driver fled without stopping.
According to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, the suspect was sentenced to five years probation on April 7, 2000, after being convicted in December 1999 of two drug felonies. If convicted of first-degree negligent homicide, he faces up to 20 years in prison.