Three people were injured, one critically, early yesterday morning when the pickup truck they were riding in slammed into a guardrail near the intersection of Kamananui Road and Wilikina Drive.

Police traffic investigators said a 17-year-old Mililani boy was at the wheel of a 2002 Isuzu pickup truck that was heading west on Kamananui when he lost control while trying to make a left turn onto Wilikina.

A passenger sitting on the far right was pinned in the truck, police said. The driver and a man who was in the middle of the front seat got out of the truck and ran, but were caught by police.

All three were taken by ambulance to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition. It was later determined that the man who had been pinned in the truck suffered a spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis, and his condition was downgraded to critical.

Police said they believe the driver, who suffered a broken jaw, had been drinking and was speeding. He was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving without a license.

Wilikina was closed following the accident and reopened about 6:30 a.m., resulting in a morning rush-hour traffic jam in Wahiawa.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.