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Kauai officer charged in death of pedestrian

A Kauai police officer has been charged with negligent homicide in the death of a 19-year-old man who was lying in the road in January after being hit by a vehicle and then was allegedly struck a second time and killed by the officer’s vehicle.

Michael Kocher Jr. was walking on Kaumualii Highway just east of the Kau­ma­kani Post Office when he was struck by a Toyota Corolla traveling east, police said.

Officer Irvin Magayanes, responding to the traffic accident, is accused of fatally hitting Kocher, who was lying alive on the highway at 9:34 p.m. Jan. 3, police said. The Corolla driver had stopped at the scene, but police said the driver was not arrested or charged.

Magayanes was booked Thursday, and his bail was set at $1,000.

Police have removed his police powers, and he’s been assigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of his trial.

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