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Dillingham pole tips in hit-and-run crash
Hawaiian Electric Co. personnel worked through Sunday evening to replace a power line on Dillingham Boulevard that was damaged in an apparent hit-and-run crash earlier in the day.
About 500 HECO customers were initially left without power when the unidentified vehicle crashed into the pole around 2:15 p.m., according to HECO spokeswoman Donna Mun.
Police are looking for the driver of the vehicle, which left the scene before authorities arrived.
HECO personnel quickly restored power to all but 181 customers as they worked to stabilize the leaning pole.
The remaining customers regained electricity at 5:12 p.m.
Police closed Dillingham Boulevard in both directions between King and Alakawa streets while a HECO crew worked to replace the tipped pole. Traffic was later contra-flowed between Kaaahi Street and Akepo Lane.
Assault target bites attacker
A Maui woman fought off a sexual assault by biting one of her attackers on the cheek, Maui police said Sunday.
The woman, 20, was kidnapped from a party in Kahului at about 11 p.m. Saturday, police said in an emailed press release.
Two men grabbed her, put her into a dark-colored sport utility vehicle and drove to a remote area of Paia where they tried to sexually assault her, police said.
But she was able to fend off her attackers, biting one of them on the cheek, police said.
She fled and made her way home at about 1 a.m. Sunday.
Police described the men as "local," possibly Filipino, 25 to 30 years old.
One of the attackers has a bite mark on his face and is about 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a slender build, police said.
The department is asking the public’s help in identifying the suspects, who should not be approached.
Anyone with information is asked to call 244-6400 or 244-6425.
Hilo escapee is still at large
Big Island police are still looking for one of two inmates who escaped from a Hilo-area minimum-security facility Wednesday night.
Robert Garcia, 23, is African-American, 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds with short black hair and brown eyes. He has tattoos on his right forearm and the left side of his neck.
He was last seen wearing a white Hawaii Community Correction Center shirt and blue HCCC shorts, according to police.
On Friday police in Kailua-Kona captured 27-year-old Andrew Wanat, who fled with Garcia from the Hale Nani Correctional Facility.
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