A 53-year-old man was critically injured yesterday when the motor scooter he was operating collided with a car on Kamehameha Highway in Helemano, near the intersection of Pa'ala'a Uka-Pupukea Road.

The collision was reported at 4:45 p.m. and prompted the closure of Kamehameha Highway in both directions for more than an hour. The highway was reopened about 6:15 p.m.

Police said the man was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where he is in critical condition.

GIRL HIT BY CAR IN CROSSWALK

An 11-year-old girl suffered an apparent leg injury yesterday when she was hit by a car at Pi'ikoi and Pensacola streets.

Emergency Medical Services spokesman Bryan Cheplic said the girl was in serious but stable condition when taken to The Queen's Medical Center.

Witnesses told police the girl was running on the sidewalk fronting a cemetery on Pensacola Street when she darted into the crosswalk at the intersection with Pi'ikoi Street.

A Toyota sedan, which was not speeding, according to witnesses, was already in the crosswalk when it hit the child about 2 p.m.

SUSPECT HELD IN WAIALUA STABBING

Charges were pending against a 45-year-old man arrested Monday night in connection with the beating and stabbing of a man who was found in the brush in Waialua on June 22.

The victim, a 32-year-old man, was beaten and stabbed at least four times in the attack, police said. A man walking his dogs found him off Cane Haul Road in Waialua.

The victim is expected to be released soon from The Queen's Medical Center, police said.

KONA CLIFF DIVER DIES OF INJURIES

A 56-year-old Big Island man injured in a cliff-diving accident Sunday at Kainaliu Beach in Kona died Monday at The Queen's Medical Center.

The Honolulu medical examiner's office yesterday identified the man as Gary P. Pooler of Kealakekua.

Pooler was injured in a dive from a cliff about 25 feet high into shallow water, according to Honolulu police and Big Island fire department reports. The accident happened at 10:43 a.m. Sunday.