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Maui police have arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with a hit-and-run moped crash on Saturday that left one man dead and one woman injured in Kahului.
Police identified the victim as Joey Ruiz, 36, of Kahului. He died at the scene of the crash. A 19-year-old woman who was riding on a moped with Ruiz was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in serious condition.
Police said Ruiz and the woman were heading northbound on Puunene Avenue near Airport Access Road when the suspect struck them from behind with a 2006 Toyota sedan at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
The woman was thrown from the moped, but Ruiz and the moped continued to be pushed along the road by the sedan’s driver until north of Puukani Street, police said.
The sedan driver drove away before police arrived.
Police later found the sedan parked in front of a nearby home and recovered it for evidence. After an investigation, police arrested the suspect, a Kahului resident, in connection with the crash.
The road was closed for about nine hours while police investigated.
It was Maui’s fourth traffic fatality this year compared to three at this time last year.
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