Driver hurt when cut tree falls onto road
A 43-year-old Koloa man was arrested Wednesday after a pine tree he cut down landed on a pickup truck traveling along Kaumualii Highway in Omao, Kauai.
A police officer happened to be driving along the highway at about 1:30 p.m. when he came upon the scene near Kahili Mountain Park.
The man had been hired by a property owner to cut down the large tree that was on a lot bordering the park side of Kaumualii Highway, a police report said. The tree fell across the highway and landed on a Dodge truck, smashing the roof and bed of the truck and injuring the driver, police said.
The driver, a 64-year-old Koloa woman, was taken to Wilcox Hospital with a possible neck injury and later released.
A second pickup was also heavily damaged when it struck the fallen tree. The 39-year-old driver of that truck was not injured.
The man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree reckless endangering and taken to the police cellblock where he was booked and released pending an initial court appearance.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police identify crash victim
Kauai police have identified the 77-year-old Oregon man who died after a two-car collision in Kapaa as Alva Jackson.
Jackson was a passenger in a Chevy HHR that was struck while attempting to make a U-turn from the northbound shoulder of Kuhio Highway, fronting the Kaiakea fire station, police said. A Ford truck, heading north, hit the driver’s side of the Chevy as it entered the northbound lane.
Jackson’s 71-year-old wife, who was driving at the time, had to be extricated from the crushed vehicle by police and firefighters, police said. Medics transported her with head injuries to Wilcox Hospital, where she remains in good condition.
The Kauai Visitors Bureau is working with Life’s Bridges, a volunteer grief counseling service, to provide assistance to Jackson’s family.
The driver of the Ford did not report any injuries.
Details sought in coffee theft
Hawaii island police are asking for help in four thefts of dried, unhulled coffee beans — with a total value of $21,700 — from two companies in Kau.
The first three thefts were from a property on Wood Valley Road. Persons took 1,300 pounds of beans over the past two weeks. The most recent theft was on Saturday from a property on Kaalaiki Cane Haul Road. About 1,000 pounds of beans were taken.
Police remind the public it is illegal to possess stolen property. They ask that anyone with information call officer Dane Shibuya at 939-2520. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
