2 men sought in Pearlridge kidnapping
CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department are looking for two men wanted in connection with a kidnapping Monday evening at Pearlridge Center.
According to police, the victim was walking in the Pearlridge Center parking lot near Macy’s when she was approached by two unknown men who grabbed her and placed her in the back seat of a four-door vehicle, then drove to the bike path area near HomeWorld Furniture store. The victim was able to flee and call for help.
The men are between 20 and 30 years old, have slim builds and stand between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 4 inches tall. Both have short black hair, with facial hair.
Motorists in truck collision hospitalized
Two men were seriously injured Thursday in a head-on collision between a pickup truck and a flatbed truck carrying containers of pig slop on Kamehameha Highway in Hauula, emergency response officials said.
The Emergency Medical Services Division said the 28-year-old driver of the pickup and the 26-year-old driver of the flatbed were both taken in serious condition to the hospital.
The flatbed, which was Laie-bound, went over the edge of a bridge on the mauka side of the highway, landing 10 to 12 feet below, fire Capt. Terry Seelig said. Firefighters used hydraulic tools to free the trapped driver of the flatbed truck.
Kamehameha Highway near Puhuli Street was shut down for about 11⁄2 hours after the 1:40 p.m. crash, police dispatch said.
Council raises age for buying tobacco to 21
The Hawaii County Council has agreed to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco to 21, the first island in the state to raise the age from 18.
Mayor Billy Kenoi is expected to sign the bill passed unanimously Wednesday, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.
The measure would take effect July 1.
The bill would not prohibit smoking by people ages 18 to 20.
Stores and businesses that sell tobacco to underage customers would be subject to fines ranging from $500 to $2,000.
New York City and two towns in Massachusetts have passed similar laws. Texas is also considering such a measure.
Self-styled healer found guilty in assault
A Kauai jury Thursday convicted a man who billed himself as an energy healer in the sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman who was camping at Anini Beach in August.
Samuel McFadden, 63, formerly of Anini, was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault.
McFadden sexually assaulted the woman while providing his energy-healing services, the Kauai prosecutor’s office said in a news release.