Head-on highway crash hurts 2 women
A head-on collision on Honoapiilani Highway early Sunday morning left two Lahaina women in critical condition.
According to Maui police, a 2004 Chrysler sports car driven by a 28-year-old woman crossed the center line and struck a BMW sedan driven by a 20-year-old woman at about 12:45 a.m. just south of Napilihau Road.
Both women were transported in critical condition to Maui Medical Center.
Police said the driver of the Chrysler was wearing a seat belt; the BMW driver was not.
Speed, drugs and alcohol may have been factors in the collision, police said.
Motorist lands car in drainage ditch
An elderly female churchgoer went to a hospital in serious condition Sunday morning after she drove her car through the Filipino United Church of Christ parking lot in Waipahu and crashed into an empty drainage canal.
The car landed, wheels down, about 15 feet below the church parking lot, said church member Robert Estrella.
"She was trying to park, and all of a sudden she went through a metal gate and into the canal," Estrella said. "She was lucky she was going at a high speed because she landed upright and didn’t flip over."
The woman, described as in her 70s, was alone in the car and got out on her own, said Fire Department Capt. Rick Karasaki. Paramedics took her to the Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition after the 10:30 a.m. crash.
Gas check turns up possible gambling den
A complaint about noxious gas at a Kakaako business on Sunday turned up no evidence of hazardous materials, but plenty of law enforcement interest in possible illegal gambling on the premises.
The Fire Department hazardous materials specialists were called to 1023 Kawaiahao St. shortly before noon in response to three people complaining of throat discomfort due to an unidentified irritant in the air. Ten people were evacuated from nearby businesses and apartments.
But while air tests came did not detect anything out of the ordinary, fire officials did recognize what appeared to be electronic gambling equipment in a room and alerted police.
Michael De Carlo, owner of Door to Door Auto Detailing, one of four business on the property, said the room was in a space he recently subleased to man claiming to run a telemarketing business.
"They were totally separate from my business," De Carlo said. "The guy had blocked himself off so I had no access to the area. Whatever happened there was totally on their end."
Police confiscated the machines late Sunday afternoon.
Driver charged in freeway gunshots case
Police have charged a Kakaako man with first-degree terroristic threatening in connection with Friday’s shooting incident on the H-2 freeway.
Douglas Freeman, 65, is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder.
Police said Freeman fired two shots at a car driven by a 23-year-old man during a confrontation on the freeway. The bullets struck the vehicle but the driver was unharmed.
