Woman critically
hurt in crash

A Kauai man faces drug and
hit-and-run charges after
running over the victim, 48

KAUAI » The pickup truck driver who rear-ended a motorcycle and then ran over its passenger Saturday is facing drug and hit-and-run charges.

The accident shut down the historic one-lane Hanalei Bridge leading into Hanalei for several hours to allow officers to conduct their investigation. It was opened at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Some restaurants in the small town could not be opened because employees were unable to get to work, and other restaurants stayed packed all day, as tourists could not leave.

Kauai police said Byron Say ditched his truck after the accident and fled through the taro patches along the highway before being arrested about 15 to 20 minutes later.

Kauai Police Department Deputy Chief Ron Venneman said they found a backpack in the field with an undisclosed amount of heroin, allegedly belonging to Say.

The 48-year-old motorcycle passenger, a woman from Kalaheo, was transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital and then airlifted to Queen's Hospital for multiple fractures and internal injuries. She was in critical but stable condition as of yesterday afternoon, Venneman said.

According to Venneman, the motorcycle was traveling north on Kuhio Highway just past the Hanalei Bridge at 2:30 Saturday afternoon when it was rear-ended by the pickup. Both the female passenger and the male driver were thrown forward by the impact, and before the pickup could come to a stop, the woman was run over, ripping her helmet off.

The motorcycle driver, a 48-year-old Kalaheo man, was not seriously injured and was treated by medics at the scene and released, Venneman said.

Say, 36, of Hanalei, was arrested on charges of an accident involving bodily injury, a Class B felony that Venneman said is comparable to fleeing the scene of an accident; first-degree negligent injury; third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug; and operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicants.

Speed and intoxicants might have played a role in the crash, police said. Say is being held at the KPD cellblock. Bail is expected to be set today.