Utah woman dies in motorcycle crash
A woman died and her husband was injured when the 2012 Harley-Davidson motorcycle they were on traveled 150 feet down a gulch Monday in Hawi.
Hawaii County police said the driver of the motorcycle was heading northwest on Akoni Pule Highway and swerved to avoid a car that crossed the center line into their lane near the 28-mile marker.
Police closed Akoni Pule Highway at about noon until about 2:40 p.m. while they investigated the crash.
Police identified the victim as Jennie Wahlstrom, 32, of Kaysville, Utah. Wahlstrom was a passenger on the motorcycle and died at the scene. Paramedics took her 35-year-old husband to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. Police did not release his name or condition.
Neither victim was wearing a helmet.
Police are also asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of the gray sedan involved in the incident and for additional witnesses.
Police initiated a negligent-homicide investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
It was the 31st traffic fatality this year on Hawaii island, compared with 16 at this time last year.
Police fail to find source of gunshot noise
The sound of gunfire in Waikiki sent pedestrians scrambling for cover Monday morning, but police officers were unable to determine the source of the noise, the Honolulu Police Department said.
A couple visiting from St. Louis said they heard a gunshot and dived into some bushes on Kuhio Avenue near the King’s Village Shopping Center as a swarm of officers canvassed the area with their guns drawn.
"With reverberations there could have been additional echoes. However, I think it was one small-caliber shot. That’s what I heard," said Drew Komos of St. Louis. "We were told to go for cover. Well, one said this way, one said that way, so we just (thought) the best thing (is) just run into the bushes."
Simultaneously, Emergency Medical Services was tending to a person in the area experiencing a medical emergency that caused heavy blood loss.
"We did not transport any patients with a gunshot wound," said Shayne Enright, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Emergency Management.
HPD Capt. Andrew Lum said that at 9:47 a.m. officers on special duty in the area of Kaiulani and Kuhio avenues reported hearing a gunshot in the area of Prince Edward Street, east of Kaiulani Avenue.
Traffic was stopped in the area for about 40 minutes while officers unsuccessfully tried to locate the sound’s origin, Lum said.
