A 9-year-old boy was hospitalized in serious condition last night after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Wahiawa.

Police said the accident occurred about 2 p.m. yesterday on Whitmore Avenue where the child was riding his bike and apparently fell in front of a van.

Witnesses told police the driver stopped the vehicle, got out to check on the boy, then drove away. He was arrested a short time later on Kauko-nahua Road heading toward Waialua.

MAN ACCUSED OF BEATING WOMAN

A 21-year-old Kane'ohe man was in police custody yesterday on charges that he beat his girlfriend so badly that he caused her to have a miscarriage.

The man was arrested early yesterday morning after he and the 19-year-old woman became involved in an argument in a Kane'ohe home, police said.

The woman said that on Friday night he hit her with a beer bottle, poured beer over her, hit her with a dustpan and then punched her in the eye, fracturing her sinus cavity and eye socket, police said.

During a police investigation, the woman also told police that in March the man had repeatedly punched her so hard in the ribs that she had a miscarriage.

The suspect was being held on investigation of multiple counts of first- and second-degree assault.

The woman was treated at a hospital and released in good condition, police said.

CANDLELIGHT RITES AT PUNCHBOWL

A candlelight service, 21-gun salute and a helicopter flyover will highlight the annual Memorial Day Eve ceremonies at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific this evening.

The ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. and includes 350 motorcycle riders participating in a "Rolling Thunder" display to honor American prisoners of war and those missing in action.

The annual event, held each year on the night before Memorial Day, is sponsored by the VFW Vietnam Veterans Post 10583 and the American-Vietnamese Coalition of Hawaii.

The public is invited to attend.