Maui police have identified a 37-year-old Haiku woman who was killed Sunday in East Maui as Anastasia Duval.
Duval was the passenger of a white 2016 Ford Explorer that fell 200 feet down the side of a cliff off Hana Highway. The vehicle has since been removed by helicopter from the rocky shoreline.
The accident occurred at 4:41 p.m. about 500 yards south of mile marker 48.
Another 37-year-old woman, also of Haiku, remains in critical condition at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Witnesses said the driver was arguing with a passenger while the car was parked on the highway. The driver then drove into a rock wall on the makai side of the road and the Ford Explorer plummeted over the side.
Suspect in homicide held on car theft warrant
A 19-year-old Waipahu man who tried to jump off the Gulick Avenue bridge onto the H-1 freeway remained in police custody Wednesday over a $5,000 warrant in connection with an auto theft case. He was at the Queen’s Medical Center, where he was taken Monday for a mental evaluation.
Witnesses told police they saw the suspect chase 48-year-old Riley Meade, of Kalihi, and assault him just before 5 a.m. Monday.
Officers responding to the assault case at Aloha Island Mart on North School Street in Kalihi found Meade face down in the parking lot and unresponsive. Paramedics took him with head injuries to the Queen’s Medical Center, where he died.
Police got a description of a suspect and chased the man to the Gulick Avenue bridge, where he climbed over the railing. Officers later wrestled him back to the walkway.
Police arrested the man on suspicion of second-degree murder.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office said Meade died of sudden cardiac arrest and that heart disease was a significant factor. The office ruled Meade’s death a homicide.
Kauai man involved in car crash dies
A 63-year-old Kekaha man involved a crash on Kauai a week ago died Monday, police said.
Police said Jeffrey Nitta was heading east on Kaumualii Highway when he began driving erratically near Lele Road about 1 p.m. May 23 in Hanapepe.
Witnesses told investigators Nitta veered onto the right shoulder, then swerved across the center of the roadway, and hit an embankment on the left shoulder. The pickup ended up on the driver’s side, police said.
Paramedics took Nitta to Wilcox Hospital and he was flown in critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center, where he died.
Break-ins prompt reminder to lock cars
Police are reminding vehicle owners to lock their doors after a spate of car break-ins over the weekend in upper Manoa.
Nine vehicles, all left unlocked, were broken into and had items taken in the areas of Waaloa Place and Pinao Street between Sunday and Monday, police said. Some of the vehicles were parked in carports, which may have led the owners to believe their cars were safe.
One vehicle window was tagged with the letters “YK” which stands for “young kriminals,” police said.
Honolulu police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said vehicle owners should lock their doors even when their cars are parked on private property, including in carports.