Hit-and-run victim never sought trouble, father says

Micah Borengasser, a Kailua man killed by a hit-and-run driver on Saturday, went out of his way to help anyone who asked and continued doing that even in death, his father said.

Warren Borengasser said goodbye on Monday to his 19-year-old son, who was taken off life support so his organs could be harvested and donated.

"Giving his organs to somebody who needed it was his last wish for us to do," Borengasser said.

His son touched many lives and didn’t deserve to be left on the road to die, he said. He said he already knows the driver’s name and hopes he turns himself in.

Police said the incident began when Borengasser and the driver got into a fight on Keolu Drive in Enchanted Lake about 9:40 p.m. Saturday. The driver of the Jeep Cherokee drove off, apparently to avoid further confrontation, and ran over Borengasser, who had fallen to the ground, police said. The driver didn’t stop.

Borengasser was taken to Castle Medical Center where he died.

Police found the Jeep Cherokee on Oneawa Street in Kailua Sunday afternoon, but the 33-year-old driver remained at large.

Warren Borengasser said his son was brain dead, but kept alive until a match could be found. During the search, he stayed at the hospital and greeted about 200 people who stopped by to say goodbye to his son.

"He was a well-loved man," he said. "He was robbed of his life."

Borengasser, the middle of three children, graduated from Kalaheo High School in 2009 and worked for a maintenance company in Hawaii Kai.

He would enliven a room when he walked into it. He wanted to be a firefighter and enjoyed outdoor activities, such as fishing, hunting and canoe paddling, and recently found an interest in horseback riding.

Warren Borengasser was surprised to hear reports alleging his son was punching the driver over an argument about a woman, causing the driver to flee. He said his son, although 6 foot 1 and 230 pounds, wouldn’t have instigated trouble.

"He was the one that would go out and try to talk to people, instead of go out and get (into) a physical altercation," he said.

Micah Borengasser was at a party in Kailua just before the crash and was walking out a woman to make sure she was OK, his father said. Friends told him his son was trying to protect the woman when the altercation began.

Borengasser struggled with the senselessness of the death.

"They killed my son, and they left him on the road to die," he said. "That really hurts, that a person can do that."

Borengasser’s last conversation with his son was before he left for Saturday’s party. He urged his son to stay out of trouble because he wouldn’t know what to do without him. The next phone call he received was notice that his son was in intensive care.

"It was terrifying because how do you lose a son’s life at only 19 years old," he asked. "You could count on him to do anything."

Hawaii News Now video: Parents of teen killed in hit-and-run crash want driver to turn himself in