What began as an attempt by police to apprehend suspects in vehicle break-ins at Makapuu turned into a chase through Kailua and over Pali Highway, and then a crash at Waterfront Plaza.
Police officers apprehended one man but were still looking for a second suspect after both of them fled from a pickup truck after the crash at Punchbowl and Pohukaina streets at about 12:50 p.m.
"We heard a loud screeching noise," said Stephanie Randles, who was having lunch at Waterfront Plaza.
Randles and Kevin Clapson, who was having lunch with her, said the pickup turned left, skidded over the street curb and crashed into newspaper vending machines.
Two men left the truck and ran in the Diamond Head direction on Pohukaina Street, they said.
Clapson and Randles said one of the men dropped a knapsack, which police later recovered.
They said that about 20 seconds later a police car and a motorcycle arrived at the site of the crash.
Oahu resident Alberto Vargas said he heard the crash and went to open the door of the pickup to see whether anyone was injured.
Vargas said there was no one in the truck, but he noticed that there was no ignition system in the vehicle, although the pickup was still running.
"It had been hot-wired," he said. "The pickup was stolen."
Vargas, a former Marine, said he decided to pursue the men because he was afraid they were on drugs.
"I didn’t want them to hurt anyone," he said.
He ran down Pohukaina Street, where a group of women pointed to where one of the men was running upstairs into the Waterfront Plaza parking garage.
Vargas said the man ran into the women’s restroom in the garage and that he and security guards waited outside until police arrived.
He said he could hear police struggling with the man in the restroom.
"They were fighting," Vargas said.
No injuries were reported.
Nearby Voyager Public Charter School on Halekauwila Street was on a "modified" lockdown Thursday afternoon, according to Principal Mary Beth Barr.
