Man hit while staggering on freeway dies

A 47-year-old man struck by a pickup truck on H-3 freeway near Mokapu Boulevard early Friday morning died in the afternoon.

The accident shut down the Honolulu-bound lanes of H-3 for about four hours.

According to police, the man was driving a 1993 Buick sedan in the northbound H-3 lanes toward Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay at about 6:10 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed the grassy median and the southbound lanes, crashing deep in a wooded area off the highway. Witnesses came to the man’s aid and said he sat on a guardrail where they all waited for help to arrive.

Police said that for an unknown reason the man stood up and staggered into the southbound lanes and was struck by a white Nissan pickup truck driven by a 28-year-old man. The pickup driver stopped immediately to render aid, police said.

The victim was taken to Queen’s, where he later died, police said.

After the accident, police closed the Honolulu-bound lanes of H-3 at Mokapu Boulevard until about 11 a.m. During the closure, all traffic coming out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii was diverted to the H-3 West Kaneohe offramp.

It was the 28th traffic fatality this year compared with 24 at the same time last year.

Firefighters further tame Pahala blaze

Hawaii County firefighters were making headway Friday with the larger of two Pahala fires totaling nearly 5,300 acres.

The Fire Department said Friday afternoon that the 4,900-acre makai fire was 60 percent contained.

The 400-acre fire mauka of Pahala town remains at 95 percent contained and is under control, officials said.

Firefighters are concentrating on the northern and southern flanks of the makai fire and are monitoring and maintaining the perimeter along the fire breaks, along with dousing hot spots as needed.

Four firefighters from the National Park Service assisted 14 county firefighters.

The northern flank is close to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the 48-mile marker of Highway 11, also known as Mamalahoa Highway, while the southern flank is in the vicinity of the 53-mile marker.

Truck engine was source of Lanikai fire

A Honolulu fire investigator found that the fire that destroyed a Lanikai house Thursday afternoon started in the engine compartment of a pickup truck.

Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said the cause of the fire was accidental and that the 2000 Ford F-150 pickup truck was parked next to the carport.

The fire caused an estimated $360,000 damage to the house, its contents and the truck. An 18-year-old woman was treated for smoke inhalation, and no one else was injured in the fire.