Driver sought in hit-and-run on H-1

Police arrested a Navy sailor and are looking for another suspect in a hit-and-run yesterday on the H-1 Freeway.

Police said the crash involved two separate accidents in the Waianae-bound lanes before the Waiawa overpass about 3:30 a.m.

A Ford Explorer SUV driven by a 61-year-old Mililani man crossed into the path of a Saab, causing the Saab to hit the right rear of the SUV, police said.

The driver of the SUV pulled onto the right shoulder and walked into the roadway, possibly to check on the driver of the Saab, which was stopped in the middle lane of the freeway.

A third driver hit the man in the roadway and fled, police said. The driver of the Saab, a 26-year-old Mililani man, ran off, leaving the car behind, police said.

Paramedics took the SUV driver in critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center, where his condition improved to guarded, police said.

The driver of the Saab, who had minor injuries, was found at his home and arrested on suspicion of negligent injury and failure to render aid. He appeared to have been drinking, police said.

Police were still looking for the third driver.

Sand Island fire spontaneously starts

Firefighters extinguished a fire that started by spontaneous combustion late Friday at the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The blaze started among the leftover material sitting in the transfer hopper of the fertilizer processing plant about 11:30 p.m., said Honolulu fire Capt. Robert Main.

The plant makes fertilizer from solid waste material.

About 35 firefighters, including a fire rescue crew and hazardous materials crew, struggled with the blaze in the confined space for about 3 1/2 hours, Main said.

Firefighters sprayed water into the metal box, which is about 15 feet long on each side, and prevented the fire from spreading to other areas, Main said.

No damage estimate was available.