HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Don Ho back in Hawai'i
Advertiser Staff
Entertainer Don Ho, who had an experimental procedure on his ailing heart two weeks ago in Thailand, returned home to Honolulu yesterday.
"He is continuing his rest and recuperation at an undisclosed location," said Ho's publicist, Donna Jung. "We're delighted to say that his health is improving dramatically."
Ho underwent a treatment Dec. 6 that has not been approved in the United States. It involves multiplying stem cells taken from his blood and injecting them into his heart in hopes of strengthening the organ.
No date has been announced for the resumption of his show.
THEFT OF CAR WITH BABY NETS 5 YEARS
A man who stole a car with a 5-month-old baby in the back seat was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison.
Tema "Tanu" Tema, 26, pleaded no contest to car theft and endangering the welfare of a child.
The baby was found still strapped in a car seat when the car was discovered abandoned shortly after being stolen in March in Liliha.
The child's father, Raymond Corpuz, had left the car's engine running when he went into the Golden Coin Restaurant, officials said.
'EWA BEACH
MAN WHO SHOT 2 TEENS SOUGHT
Police were looking for a man who shot two teenagers outside an 'Ewa Beach convenience store yesterday morning.
Both victims were treated at an area hospital and released.
Police said that shortly after 2 a.m., two groups of people got into a confrontation at the convenience store at the corner of Fort Weaver and Makule roads.
At 2:10 a.m., minutes after the confrontation subsided, a black car pulled into the parking lot, and a man jumped out and asked "who was making trouble for his cousin," police said.
Before anyone answered, the man pulled out a small semi-automatic handgun and fired one shot, which hit two males, one 17 years old and the other 19 years old.
WINDWARD
GIRL KILLED BY TREE IDENTIFIED
A 13-month-old girl who was killed when a tree branch fell on her Sunday on a Windward hiking trail has been identified as Rylee Egbert of Kailua.
The girl was with her parents on the Maunawili Trail when a branch fell shortly before 11 a.m.
The city medical examiner yesterday said the girl died of head injuries caused by blunt trauma.
MAUI
POLICE SEEK TO CONFIRM PILOT'S ID
Police are awaiting dental records to confirm the identity of a man who piloted a Cessna 172 that crashed Thursday in the mountains above Hana.
The pilot is believed to be a 56-year-old man from Salt Lake City who rented the single-engine plane from Maui Aviators at Kahului Airport. The pilot had filed a flight plan for a circle-island trip, which ended when the aircraft slammed into a ridge at the 2,400-foot elevation on Haleakala, about five miles south of the Hana Airport. The pilot's body was recovered Friday. Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the Maui Police Department said yesterday an autopsy performed Saturday indicated the man died from injuries suffered in the crash.
Kristi Dunks of the National Transportation Safety Board said there are plans to recover the plane today and take it to Kahului Airport, where a federal investigator will examine the wreckage for clues to the cause of the crash.
MAN DIES IN MAUI MOTORCYCLE CRASH
Five motorcyclists have died on Maui since October, and police said inexperience was a factor in most of the fatal crashes.
The latest occurred at 4:50 p.m. Sunday when a 30-year-old Kula man wiped out on Makena Alanui Road. Police said Joshua K. Feiteira was heading north when he lost control of his 2005 Suzuki GSXR and crashed just south of Honoiki Street. He was pronounced dead at 5:45 p.m. at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
KALIHI
WOMAN HIT BY PICKUP TRUCK
A 63-year-old Honolulu woman was in critical condition after she was hit by a pickup truck while crossing McNeill Street yesterday morning, police said.
A 1990 Toyota pickup truck traveling west on Dillingham Boulevard turned left onto McNeill and hit the pedestrian about 6:20 a.m., police said. The woman was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.
The driver of the truck, a 23-year-old Wahiawa man, was not hurt. Sgt. Lisa Reed of the police vehicular homicide division said speed and alcohol are not suspected. The woman was wearing black clothing and it was dark at the time of the accident, Reed said.
