A 23-year-old skateboarder was taken to a hospital in critical condition Tuesday afternoon after he was struck by a car at a busy Kalihi intersection.
Police said the accident at North King and Liliha streets occurred at 5:32 p.m.
The 23-year-old driver of a 2015 Jeep Wrangler was traveling south on Liliha Street and had the green light when the man on a skateboard crossed in front of him. The skateboarder, who was heading east, was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center.
Police officer charged in assault of man, 72
Hawaii County prosecutors have charged a 39-year-old police officer in the assault of a 72-year-old neighbor in Kailua-Kona.
Police said officers responded 11:14 p.m. Friday to a disturbance at an apartment building on the 75-5600 block of Kuakini Highway.
Jami Harper, an off-duty Kona patrol officer, had confronted the older man, who lives in the apartment above him, police said.
The victim was taken to Kona Community Hospital, treated for facial injuries and released Saturday.
Harper was charged Wednesday with second-degree assault. His bail was set at $2,000.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Washington man accepts plea deal in fatal isle crash
A Washington state man, who was charged in the deaths of two passengers in his vehicle after a crash last year on Kauai, has changed his plea from not guilty to no contest.
Daniel Dunkin, 63, of Lacey, Wash., appeared Tuesday before Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe to formally accept the plea offer from the state and to change his plea, the Garden Island newspaper reports.
Dunkin’s defense attorney, Michael Green, said his client had led an otherwise exemplary life.
“His family has been in law enforcement for 35 years,” Green said in court. “One of the victims was the family’s best friend.”
Shortly after Dunkin’s entry of plea on Oct. 20, the state offered him a plea deal with three amended counts. The state said it would not oppose Dunkin’s motion for deferral of a guilty plea, and that it would not request that he serve jail time.
Dunkin was charged on two counts of negligent homicide in the second degree on Aug. 26 in connection with a collision on the North Shore on May 1, 2014.
Dunkin, who was driving a Chevy carrying three passengers, was attempting to make a left turn from the southbound lane near Pili Road Junction when an oncoming Ford struck him.
The 55-year-old Kilauea man in the Ford was not injured in the accident.
George Nielson, 58, also of Lacey, died at the scene. A 62-year-old woman, Margaret Ratcliffe, was flown to the Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu in critical condition. She later died.
A third passenger, 56-year-old Julie Fogliano, was injured. Dunkin was not.
