POLICE BEAT
Man told officers he hit boy in face
Advertiser Staff
Police on Tuesday were questioning a 28-year-old Kapahulu man about critical injuries to a 4-year-old boy.
Police described the man as the boy's caretaker. They said the man told investigators that he became upset at the boy because he was making too much noise and that he struck him several times in the face.
The child was taken to Kapi'olani Medical Center but was overcome there by his injuries and lapsed into critical condition, police said.
They classified the case as second-degree assault but had not made an arrest as of yesterday morning.
TRAFFIC FATALITY MAUI'S 1ST IN '06
A 51-year-old pedestrian became Maui's first traffic fatality of the year when he was hit by a car Monday at the intersection of Haleakala Highway and Maka-wao Avenue.
Police said Andrew McLaglen II was crossing the street against a red light at about 6:30 p.m. when he was hit by a Kula-bound 1995 Toyota sedan. McLaglen was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
77-YEAR-OLD DIES OF CRASH INJURIES
A 77-year-old Hawaiian Ocean View Estates man died Monday of injuries he suffered when the car he was riding in collided with a cement truck on Hawai'i Belt Road in Ka'u.
Joseph A. Jensen was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:15 p.m.
Police said Jensen was a passenger in a 2001 Nissan four-door sedan that was traveling south on Hawai'i Belt Road shortly before 9 a.m. when the car attempted to overtake a cement truck in a no-passing zone.
As the 2004 Kenworth cement truck attempted to make a left turn onto Kona Kai Boulevard, the sedan sideswiped the truck, ran off the left side of the road and hit a tree, police said.
The driver of the Nissan, a 74-year-old Hawaiian Ocean View Estates woman, and the driver of the cement truck, a 50-year-old Na'alehu man, were not injured.
Police have begun a negligent homicide investigation.
Jensen's death was the second traffic fatality on the Big Island this year.
FIVE ARRESTED IN MILILANI ASSAULT
Police have arrested one man and four juveniles in connection with a reported sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl who was found on the grounds of Mililani High School early on the morning of Jan. 2, police said.
An 18-year-old man who lives on Mahapili Court near the high school and four juvenile boys were arrested Jan. 5, police said.
The man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree sexual assault and was released pending investigation, officials said.
