HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Drivers injured as buses stoned
Advertiser Staff
Three tour bus drivers were injured yesterday after rocks were thrown at their buses as they headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Police said the buses were traveling north on Kamehameha Highway when rocks struck the windows of two buses near the Kahana boat ramp. A third bus was hit as it passed Kualoa Ranch, police said.
The incidents occurred between 5:30 and 5:45 p.m. Police said the drivers were not sure if the rocks were thrown from the side of the road or from passing cars. Police also were investigating last night whether the incidents were related.
The bus drivers reported glass fragments in their eyes, but it was not known how serious their injuries were. None of the passengers reported injuries, police said.
Police opened three separate first-degree criminal property damage cases. There were no arrests as of last night.
NANAKULI
FALLING ROCK INJURES HIKER
A boy was seriously injured yesterday when he was struck on the head by a rock while hiking above Nanakuli.
The boy was hiking with friends above Hakimo Road when a rock the size of a football broke loose and hit the boy on the head shortly after 4 p.m., according to Emergency Medical Services personnel. Fire rescue crews helped the boy off the mountain, and an Army medevac helicopter took him to The Queen's Medical Center.
His condition was not available last night, but city paramedics said he was conscious and responsive. Paramedics said the boy is 12 to 13 years old.
ROAD CLOSURE THROUGH FRIDAY
The right Makaha-bound lane of Farrington Highway in the vicinity of Ma'ili Point and Hakimo Road will be closed between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. through Friday for driveway construction. The state Department of Transportation says motorists should expect traffic delays.
PUPUKEA
CREWS SEARCH FOR LOST HIKERS
Fire rescue crews last night were searching for four people who became lost during a hike in Pupukea.
The four adults set out about 4 p.m., said fire spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada. They lost their way, called for help and notified fire officials that they were in a clearing and that no one was injured, Tejada said.
The hikers were told to stay put until rescue crews could locate them. As of 9:30 p.m., rescue crews had not found the hikers.
MILILANI
MAN ON MOPED HURT IN COLLISION
A man was critically injured last night when his moped struck a vehicle in Mililani.
The man, described by city paramedics as between 35 and 45 years old, was riding his moped on Lanikuhana Avenue when he broadsided a vehicle shortly after 10:30 p.m. The impact threw the man over the vehicle's hood and he rolled to the pavement.
The man was taken to Wahiawa General Hospital in extremely critical condition. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, paramedics said.
Police closed Lanikuhana from Anania to Holani streets while they investigated.
MAUI
OFFER TO BUILD KIHEI HIGH SCHOOL
Maui real estate developer Everett Dowling has offered to build a public high school for the fast-growing community of Kihei.
Dowling said his engineers are studying two potential parcels for the school but wouldn't specify where they were.
He says he would lease the school to the state after building it. The state would wind up owning the school property after the lease expires — probably after about 30 years.
"This is definitely the best shot we've had so far at making the high school happen," said David Frazier, acting president of the Kihei Community Association.
Kihei residents have long complained that the commutes to Baldwin High in Wailuku and Maui High in Kahului keep students from south Maui from participating in extracurricular activities and add to the Valley Isle's growing traffic congestion.
Dowling, the president of Wailuku-based Dowling Co., designed and built Kihei's Kamali'i Elementary nine years ago.
MAN SENTENCED TO 22-YEAR TERM
Federal Judge David Ezra yesterday sentenced a 35-year-old Maui man to 22 1/2 years in prison for possession of 84 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute it.
Keoki Astronomo had also been convicted of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Astronomo had previously been convicted of selling marijuana in 1991 and distributing cocaine in 1993.
KAILUA
ALLEGED SEXUAL MOLESTER ARRESTED
A 28-year-old man was arrested Sunday in connection with a report filed on behalf of an 11-year-old girl who said the man sexually molested her that morning in Kailua.
Investigators were told the incident took place about 3 a.m. Sunday.
The suspect, who knows the victim, was arrested about 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of North Kalaheo Avenue and Kalaka Place, police said.
SCHOOL TO HOLD RECYCLING DRIVE
Kailua High School's Project Graduation 2006 will have a HI 5¢ can and bottle fundraising drive Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the school's parking lot.
Proceeds will go toward the school's 2006 Project Graduation, an all-night party that provides students with a safe, drug- and alcohol-free graduation celebration.
WAIKIKI
NIGHTCLUB PATRON HITS BOUNCER
A 25-year-old Waikiki man was arrested early Sunday morning after he allegedly hit a nightclub bouncer in the head with a beer bottle.
The bouncer, 35, told police he asked the younger man to leave the club but he refused and took a swing. The bouncer said he pushed the club patron away and that the man came back at him with a beer bottle.
Police arrested the man on suspicion of second-degree assault. The bouncer was treated at the scene by city paramedics for a cut on his forehead.
