The towing company that removed a stolen minivan from the Ala Wai Canal on Wednesday is trying to track down the owner to collect payment.
Brian Kunishige, owner of Kuni’s Automotive & Towing, said the cost of the tow amounts to a little more than $400, which he will try to recover from the vehicle’s owner or insurance company.
"Right now we’re going to have to track down the owner," he said by phone. "It’s a late-model van, so it may be insured."
He said the tow driver was able to remove the van after a state employee in a small boat in the canal attached a chain to the Dodge Caravan. The tow truck driver winched the van to the wall, reattached the chain and recovered the van at about 11 a.m.
He said a diver wanted about $2,000 to get into the water and attach the chain to the vehicle.
"We didn’t have a diver, so we had to figure something out," he said by phone.
"The diver, they wanted too much money."
He said the state employee was with the Department of Health investigating pollution from the crash.
Police said the driver apparently lost control of the speeding van, which hit a curb, went airborne, hit a coconut tree and plunged into the canal at about 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Waimanalo man was able to get out of the van on his own. Police said the van had been reported stolen.
Police arrested the driver at about 4:15 a.m. for investigation of driving under the influence of an intoxicant, driving without a license and auto theft. Paramedics took him in serious condition to a hospital.
Tow trucks were called to the scene at about 5 a.m. but could not remove the van, which was completely underwater.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which manages the canal, said police are taking the lead because the case involves a stolen vehicle.
The Dodge Caravan was towed to Kuni’s Automotive in McCully.
Kunishige said his company won’t be paid immediately for the job and that he hopes to find the owner — "hopefully, because we eat some of this, too. That’s the bad part of this business here," he said.
He said sometimes he has to take an owner to small claims court to collect.
He said the city pays a small portion, about a fourth of the cost, if the vehicle is unclaimed.
"At that point it becomes a big loser because what I got to pay out to these guys to do the job is beyond what we collect," he said.
