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Hilo man charged in hit-and-run crash that killed mo-ped rider

A 41-year-old Hilo man, who was driving drunk, killed a mo-ped driver in a hit-and-run crash Saturday, then drove home about a mile away with the mo-ped still beneath his van, Big Island police said.

The crash happened about 10 p.m. at Kinoole Street and Hualalai Road in Hilo.

Keolaokalani W. Kailianu, 41, was driving a van south on Kinoole Street when he made a left turn onto Hualalai Road and hit an oncoming mo-ped rider who had the right of way, police said.

Kailianu’s van dragged the mo-ped rider and his mo-ped east along Hualalai Street until the man fell away about a block from the crash at Mauna Kea Street, police said.

Police arrested him at his apartment on Banyan Drive soon afterward. He was charged over the weekend with first-degree negligent homicide, operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, and fleeing the scene of a crash. He remains in police custody unable to post $10,500 bail.

Firefighters took the mo-ped driver, who was not wearing a helmet, to Hilo Medical Center where he died at 10:41 p.m. Police are trying to confirm his identity. 

The Police Department urges anyone with information about the crash to call officer Paul Kim at 961-2332.

It was the 10th traffic fatality on the Big Island this year compared to 14 at this time last year.

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