Hikers safe after overnight stay in Koolaus
Two hikers who had to spend the night in the Koolau Mountains above Hauula were rescued by firefighters Thursday morning.
Capt. Terry Seelig, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman, said the two men in their 30s — one of them a student at Brigham Young University Hawaii — began their hike near Laie on Wednesday morning headed for a waterfall. Once reaching the waterfall, the two continued another five miles, where they got into trouble on a ridge trail.
They used a cellphone to call for help at 3 p.m.
Rescue personnel, assisted by the department’s helicopter, were hampered by gusty winds and dense cloud cover and suspended operations at 6 p.m.
By midmorning Thursday heavy clouds still covered the hikers’ location, so the Fire Department flew a rescue team to a spot below the hikers. The team then hiked up to the two stranded men and accompanied them to where the helicopter could pick them up at 11 a.m.
Seelig said the two men both had cellphones, flashlights, a little food and ponchos. Neither needed first aid.
Woman accused of smashing ATM with bat
Police arrested a 31-year-old Lihue woman after she allegedly used a baseball bat to smash an ATM and several store windows at Kukui Grove Shopping Center on Kauai.
Shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, the woman used a bat to smash an ATM at the American Savings Bank at the mall, police said. She then headed to Longs Drugs and shattered a glass door before heading to Jamba Juice and striking a glass window, police said.
Police said she tried to hit a window at Starbucks when she was confronted by three police officers and an off-duty officer. Officers disarmed the woman and arrested her on suspicion of criminal property damage.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Crash with bus kills SUV driver
A Kailua-Kona man was fatally injured when a vehicle he was driving crossed the centerline of Hawaii Belt Road and hit a county bus.
Police identified the victim as Kris Korban, 45.
Korban was driving a 1993 Ford Explorer north near Ookala when his SUV crossed the centerline and hit a southbound Hele-On bus at 3:58 p.m. Wednesday near the 30-mile marker, police said.
Korban was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:38 a.m. Thursday.
Police said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.
An initial report by the Fire Department said 15 people were injured, but police said six people on the bus had minor injuries.
Five passengers from the bus were taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries. The bus driver, 58, of Hilo was treated for minor injuries at Hilo Medical Center.
The roadway was wet due to heavy rainfall.
It was the 38th traffic fatality on Hawaii island this year, compared with 21 at the same time last year.
