Witnesses told police a 58-year-old man charged in connection with this week’s road rage incident on the H-1 freeway made threatening gestures from his car to two men before pulling over Monday, ramming their stopped car and then pepper-spraying and stabbing them.
Mark Char made an initial appearance in District Court in Honolulu on Thursday before Judge Lono Lee on charges of second-degree attempted murder, second-
degree assault and third-
degree assault. A preliminary hearing is set for Monday. His aggregate bail is set at $2 million.
According to a police affidavit filed in District Court, a driver and passenger in a vehicle traveling westbound on the freeway said they saw a red Camaro tailgating their car. The driver of the Camaro, they said, then pulled into the right lane alongside them and “with his right hand gestured like he was holding a pistol and shooting at” them.
The passenger told police they tried to drive away from the Camaro but couldn’t. The driver said he pulled over to the shoulder near the Kunia exit in hopes Char would drive past and continue westbound on the freeway. Instead, Char allegedly pulled over to the shoulder and stopped in front of the vehicle. When the driver exited his car, he said Char backed up his vehicle toward them, striking the car, the affidavit said.
Char allegedly stepped outside of his car and “pepper-sprayed” the driver’s face and then the passenger. The affidavit said the men tried to stop Char when he stabbed the driver multiple times and slashed the passenger’s arms with a knife.
Another driver who saw the altercation stopped and tried to break up the fight when he suffered cuts to his right pinkie and index finger, causing him to bleed heavily.
When Char and the first driver stopped fighting, the other driver said he saw that Char was holding a “T” knife in his hand before fleeing the scene. Police said the second driver drove himself to the Queen’s Medical Center-West, where he received treatment for his lacerations.
The first driver suffered life-threatening stab wounds to his stomach, sternum, right kidney and left arm. He was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition. A doctor told police he required immediate surgery. The passenger also was taken to Queen’s, in serious condition, and treated for stab wounds to both arms.
Witnesses took down Char’s license plate number, according to the affidavit, and police arrived at his Halolani Street home at about 3:45 p.m.
Officers formed a perimeter around the home after they learned numerous firearms were registered under the name of Char’s wife. Multiple officers of the Crime Reduction Unit and Specialized Services Division also arrived and surrounded the home.
Char surrendered about four hours later.
