Driver, 19, charged in fatal crash on H-1

Prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man with killing an 18-year-old woman and injuring three others when he lost control of the Jeep he was driving and hit an H-1 freeway guardrail this month.

Devon Shane Keser was charged Friday with first-degree negligent homicide, two counts of second-degree negligent injury, one count of first-degree negligent injury and driving under the influence while under the age of 21. His bail was set at $100,000.

Kortney Biton-Schubert, 18, was killed when she and the other four people in the Jeep were thrown from the vehicle after the driver lost control, struck a guardrail and rolled over several times on the freeway near the Vineyard Boulevard offramp Aug. 12.

The medical examiner said Biton-Schubert died of cranial cerebral injuries.

Police said alcohol and speed were factors in the accident.

Keser was arrested Wednesday at Tripler Army Medical Center.

Three men — two 20-year-olds and a 19-year-old — and a woman, 19, were taken to the hospital.

Firefighters douse blaze on Waikiki lanai

Firefighters extinguished a three-alarm fire that broke out Sunday on a lanai at a Waikiki condominium.

Honolulu fire Capt. David Jenkins said the fire was reported at about 3:35 p.m. at the Royal Aloha at 1909 Ala Wai Blvd., near the Waikiki Landmark.

About 50 firefighters from 13 companies initially responded after smoke and flames were seen on a 13th-floor lanai of the 16-story building.

One person helped suppress the fire using a building fire hose, and firefighters were able to contain the fire to the lanai, Jenkins said.

Firefighters brought the fire under control by 3:49 p.m., and the second- and third-alarm companies were canceled. But 27 firefighters remained at the scene to extinguish the fire and ventilate the area.

A cause and damage estimate were not immediately available.

Fire at Punchbowl condo investigated

Fire investigators are looking into a fire that was confined to an elevator room at a Punchbowl condominium early Monday morning.

The fire was reported at 2:04 a.m. at the Lunalilo Tower on Lunalilo Street. It was brought under control at 2:21 a.m.

None of the residents had to be evacuated from the 12-story building, which has 83 units.

Cause of Maui house fire still unknown

Firefighters were trying to determine the cause of a Waiehu, Maui, house fire Sunday that displaced seven people and caused $800,000 in damage.

Maui Fire Department spokesman Edward Taomoto said the fire began in a single-story home on Lekeona Loop at about 7:50 a.m. Sunday.

Six people were home at the time, and everyone got out safely, including two children and an elderly man who were pulled from a bedroom window by family members, Taomoto said.

The family dog also was not hurt.

The American Red Cross was assisting the family of four adults and three children.

The fire started near a laundry room, but the cause remained undetermined.

Damage was estimated at $500,000 to the structure and $300,000 to the contents.