Officer hit twice by vehicle

A Honolulu police officer suffered minor injuries last night as he was hit twice by a car driven by a man fleeing a check-cashing firm, police said.

The suspect, who then parked the car and fled on foot, was still being sought last night, said police Capt. Richard Robinson.

A police officer, 37, was responding to a report of a man trying to cash a suspicious check at the Money Mart at 435 Atkinson Drive.

When the officer arrived about 7:15 p.m., the suspect, described as in his 20s, tried to get away in a blue Ford Focus and hit the officer twice, Robinson said.

He then sped onto Kahakai Drive, driving the wrong way, and abandoned the car in the rear of the Atkinson Towers apartment building. Police said the car was not stolen but was not registered to the suspect, who has been identified.

Mo-ped driver dies after crash

A 22-year-old man died early yesterday after his mo-ped crashed at the base of St. Louis Heights.

Shortly before 3:29 a.m., a 1995 Honda Elite moped was Ewa-bound on Dole Street near Frank Street when the driver lost control, hit a curb and went into an embankment, police said.

The man, whose identity was not released immediately, was taken in critical condition to the Queen's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said speed may have been a factor in the crash, and they were investigating whether drugs or alcohol were also factors. The driver was not wearing a helmet, police said.

HONOLULU

Manoa Valley hiker taken to hospital

A mainland visitor was airlifted yesterday from a Manoa Valley trail in the Honolulu Fire Department helicopter after he injured his leg while hiking.

The man, about 60 years old, was in stable condition when he was taken by ambulance to the Queen's Medical Center after the 2:40 p.m. rescue.

He slipped and injured his leg while hiking with a group on Waaloa Trail behind the former Paradise Park, said fire Capt. Terry Seelig. Members of the party reported the accident at 11:40 a.m.

5 arrested in alleged threat

Police arrested five men accused of threatening a 37-year-old woman in Palolo Valley.

Shortly before 12:15 a.m. yesterday, a group of men approached the woman who was standing in front of her apartment at Kiwila and Ahe streets.

Police said the men were holding kitchen knives, waving them at the woman while yelling. The woman feared for her safety and called police.

Police arrested the five men, ages 27, 22, 20, 19, and 18, on suspicion of first-degree terroristic threatening.

LEEWARD OAHU

2 men charged in Waianae beating

Two Waianae men were charged with first-degree assault for a Saturday morning attack in a Waianae parking lot that put the victim, a suspected car thief, in a hospital with head injuries.

Curtis K. Rivera and Jordan Simmons are being held on $100,000 bail for the alleged beating of Kelii Harris. Rivera is also charged with terroristic threatening and illegal use of a firearm.

Police were called to the scene at the Waimaha Sunflower housing project on McArthur Street by witnesses who said four men took part in the beating. One attacker allegedly struck the victim in the head with the butt of a rifle. Witnesses said several shots were fired into the air in the incident, according to the police report.

Rivera was arrested Sunday at his Anaha Street home.

Neighbor Island

Search to resume for missing boater

The search for a missing kayaker was to continue at first light today off the north coast of the Big Island.

The Coast Guard and other agencies have searched since Sunday for Miguel Serussino, 26, who failed to return to shore from a Saturday paddling excursion off Kapaa Beach.

Authorities will assess whether to continue the search after this morning, according to a Coast Guard release.

Searchers aboard Coast Guard and Navy aircraft and aboard the patrol boat Galveston Island have covered more than 12,000 square miles. They have focusing on waters off the Kohala coastline and in the Alenuihaha channel between the Big Island and Maui.

The Coast Guard asks that anyone with information on Serussino or sightings of a yellow kayak or paddle in the area of Kapaa Beach near Kawaihae call (808) 842-2600.