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Explosion burns Duck Tours worker
A gas explosion yesterday on one of Hawaii Duck Tours’ boats at its Kakaako headquarters sent a male employee to the hospital in serious condition with burns.
The fire already had been put out by employees who reported using an extinguisher by the time firefighters arrived at the Kawaiahao Street location shortly after the 9 a.m. incident, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig.
The fire appeared to have been some kind of "flash fire," Seelig said.
Duck Tours is known for its use of distinctive, yellow amphibious vehicles that operate both on land and sea.
Firefighters were called back to the scene at about 2 p.m. due to complaints of a strong gasoline odor, but the owner took precautions to ventilate the facility, Seelig said.
Pedestrian is hit in Kalihi crosswalk
A 30-year-old Honolulu man was critically injured yesterday after he was hit by a pickup truck in a crosswalk on Kalihi Street.
Police said the man was walking in the Koko Head direction near Eluwene Street when he was struck by the Toyota driven by a 55-year-old Honolulu man at about 6:10 a.m.
The pedestrian had serious bodily injuries and was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
Police said the accident happened on a wet roadway in rainy conditions.
Driver killed on Kauai is identified
A 22-year-old Las Vegas woman who died in a two-car crash on Kauai was identified as Jesselina Kee, according to a county spokeswoman.
At about 9:45 a.m. Monday, Kee was heading east on Kaumualii Highway in Puhi when she crossed the center line and crashed into a vehicle heading west near the Anonui Road intersection.
Kee died at the scene. The other driver, an 80-year-old Koloa man, suffered injuries that were described as non-life-threatening.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Pig-trapping effort gets under way
Dry weather has caused wild pigs to move onto private property on the west side of the Big Island, leading to a spate of complaints about illegal hunting, police said.
In response, police are putting together a list of authorized trappers to remove the swine.
County and state enforcement officers have fielded complaints about people hunting on private property without the landowners’ permission, negligently firing weapons in residential areas and harming pets and livestock, police said.
The illegal hunters also hunt without a license and after sunset.
Police encourage community groups to call them for information on safe and ethical hunting. They also ask trappers who are willing to remove wild pigs from private property to call officers Robin Crusat or Darren Cho at 326-4646, ext. 259, or the Captain Cook police station at 323-2591.
Injuries kill Maui man, 39
A 39-year-old Wailuku man who was thrown from a car in a Maui crash Saturday died at the hospital the following day, police said.
Rafael Purugganan of Wailuku died from injuries at Maui Memorial Medical Center, police said.
The crash happened at 2:04 a.m. on Honoapiilani Highway near Kuikahi Drive when a 26-year-old Kihei woman lost control of an Infinity G35 sedan, hit a dirt embankment and overturned. The driver and a 25-year-old Haiku man who was also in the car were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Purugganan is Maui’s ninth traffic fatality this year compared with eight at this time last year.
