A Lahaina man died Thursday night after being struck by two cars on Honoapi'ilani Highway in the area of Wahikuli Beach Park.

Maui police said Rene Humberto Quijada was on the road about 9 p.m. when he was struck by the southbound vehicles.

Police said Quijada walked onto the road and into the path of a 2007 Suzuki sedan. Quijada was then hit by a 2004 Cadillac sedan.

Quijada was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Police said Quijada is Maui County's eighth traffic fatality of the year, compared with seven at this time last year.

KAUA'I CELL-PHONE BAN STARTS TOMORROW

Kaua'i police are reminding motorists that the county's ban on driving while using cell phones and other handheld mobile electronic devices takes effect tomorrow.

The law prohibits driving while using all types of cell phones, text messaging and paging devices, video games, laptop computers, personal digital assistants and digital cameras.

Violators will be subject to fines of $97 and up to $147 if they are cited in a school zone or construction area.

For more information about the ordinance, go to www.kauai.gov/cellphoneban or call the Kaua'i Police Department at 241-1611.

2 ARRESTED IN SCHOOL PIPE BOMB INCIDENT

Two Lāna'i High School students were arrested last month for setting off a homemade pipe bomb that destroyed lockers at the school in March, the Maui News reported.

Damage was estimated at $1,500 to the lockers, with all 15 connected lockers having to be replaced, said police Lt. Ernest Soares, commander of the Lāna'i Patrol District. He said no one was hurt in the explosion, which occurred on March 27.

During a Maui Police Commission meeting Wednesday, Assistant Chief Danny Matsuura credited Lāna'i school resource officer Kimberly Masse with doing good investigative work to identify the suspects.

Masse was investigating the theft of a phone at the school and talking to a suspect when she learned he was involved in the pipe bomb case, Matsuura said.

He said the students at first had planned to leave the pipe bomb under a 124-gallon propane tank in the center of the campus. But one suspect talked the other one out of that, Matsuura said.

NURSE LAUDED FOR H1N1-RELATED WORK

Angie Serota, a Kaua'i Medical Reserve Corps volunteer from Kīlauea, was recognized by the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps and the U.S. Surgeon General for her work during the recent H1N1 pandemic.

Serota, a retired nurse, logged more than 1,000 hours last year with the state Department of Health's school-based H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination clinics.

STATE TAX DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN IN JUNE

Kurt Kawafuchi, director of the state Department of Taxation, will leave the Lingle administration in June.

A spokesman for Gov. Linda Lingle said Kawafuchi is leaving the job by mutual agreement. Kawafuchi declined comment.

Kawafuchi was first named deputy tax director in January 2003, shortly after Lingle took office, and has led the department through the governor's two terms.

Kawafuchi is an attorney and certified public accountant who previously worked in private practice and as a tax attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.