A Wahiawa man was killed in a crash that also injured two other people outside Schofield Barracks on Tuesday morning after the car he was in sped away from a police vehicle following an attempt to serve a drug search warrant.
The crash took place on Kunia Road fronting Schofield’s Foote Gate at about 7:10 a.m.
Police said the 39-year-old man who was killed was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a 29-year-old man. The car, a gray 1990 Honda, was speeding on Kunia Road when it ran the red light at Foote Gate and hit a white Camry driven by a 58-year-old woman who was turning into Schofield Barracks, according to police.
After the initial collision, the Honda hit a metal traffic signal pole and split in two. The 39-year-old passenger was ejected from the car and died at the scene.
The Department of the Medical Examiner identified the man as Michael Daraban Jr. of Wahiawa.
The drivers of both cars were seriously injured, police said. The woman’s status was upgraded to good condition later in the day.
Capt. Andrew Lum, Honolulu Police Department spokesman, said in a statement that at about 6 a.m., officers from the Wahiawa station’s Crime Reduction Unit and Specialized Services Division went to a home in Wahiawa to serve a drug search warrant on Daraban.
He was not home at the time, Lum said. But he said officers located Daraban about an hour later in Waialua in a Honda being driven by another man. Officers followed the Honda, which sped away after seeing a marked police car, Lum said.
Police closed southbound traffic on Kunia Road and eastbound traffic on Wilikina Drive at 7:30 a.m. as they investigated the crash. The lanes were reopened at 12:45 p.m. HPD’s Traffic Division is continuing to investigate.
Court records show Daraban has an extensive criminal record and spent time incarcerated after being convicted on various charges including robbery, forgery and drug offenses. After a five-year prison term, he was discharged Nov. 28, court documents said.
Daraban’s death was the 56th recorded on Oahu’s roads so far this year, compared with 49 at this time in 2011.
