Steven Headington, 42, the accused driver of a pickup truck from which a man fell from the bed during a crash on the H-1 freeway last month, is charged with fleeing the scene of a fatal accident and operating a stolen vehicle.
Phillip Wallace died in the May 21 crash at the Wilder Avenue offramp. Honolulu police say Wallace, 38, was thrown from the bed of the truck and landed on the roadway. Another vehicle then hit him.
Police said they were continuing their investigation into what happened prior to the crash and how Wallace ended up in the bed of the pickup.
The city’s ambulance service reported that before the crash, the truck was involved in a minor incident with a car, and when the truck driver attempted to drive away, a passenger from the car jumped into the pickup bed.
The driver of the pickup fled the Wilder Avenue offramp crash scene on foot, leaving a 23-year-old woman in the passenger seat suffering from a head injury.
Police put out a Honolulu CrimeStoppers alert June 1 identifying Headington as the suspected driver and asking for the public’s help in locating him. They arrested him Thursday in Makaha.
About a half-hour after the arrest, the city prosecutor filed papers in state court charging Headington with failing to remain at or return to the scene of a fatal accident to render aid and with unauthorized operation of the truck. His bail is $100,000. Headington is scheduled to appear in state Circuit Court for arraignment on the charges Thursday.
Headington has no criminal history in Hawaii. He has, however, received numerous traffic citations since 2014, some while operating vehicles owned by others.
ON VACATION:
Christine Donnelly is on vacation. Kokua Line returns Tuesday.
