An early morning moped crash Saturday nearly killed a 34-year-old Kihei man.
Police said the operator hit a curb while riding his black Sym moped heading north on the southbound shoulder of South Kihei Road.
He was thrown from the moped and was taken in critical condition to the Maui Memorial Medical Center, police said.
The preliminary investigation shows the man was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
No attempted-murder charge yet for suspect
Prosecutors on Saturday declined to immediately charge a 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer.
The man, driving a stolen 2015 Ford F150 pickup truck, and his front-seat passenger were shot Thursday by a police officer in the Mililani Burger King drive-thru.
Plainclothes officers, responding to a report of a stolen vehicle, boxed in the truck at the drive-thru, with a police-subsidized sport utility vehicle in front and a car in back. The vehicles appeared to be unmarked, with no blue dome lights.
Police said the 30-year-old driver of the pickup accelerated and struck and damaged the police SUV, then allegedly continued toward the officer, who was standing nearby.
That’s when the officer fired shots at the driver and front-seat passenger. The pair were seriously injured and remained hospitalized Saturday.
The driver was charged with violating a probation warrant for an unrelated drug conviction. His bail was set at $20,000.
The male passenger was not charged as police continued their investigation. A 35-year-old woman who was in the back seat was charged with unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.
