Police ID man killed in Hilo crash
Hawaii Island police have identified a 58-year-old Hilo man who died Saturday after he apparently fell off his bicycle and was struck by a semitrailer on Highway 19 in Hilo.
The bicyclist was identified as Darwin E. Barve, according to the Hawaii County Police Department.
Barve was riding his bicycle northbound on the highway when he apparently hit the sidewalk of a bridge and fell over into the roadway and was then struck by a 1995 International semitrailer that was also traveling north, according to police who responded to the 8:48 a.m. call. The crash occurred about 619 feet north of mile marker 3.
The driver of the truck, a 66-year-old Hilo man, was not injured, according to police.
The bicyclist was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:48 a.m. Responding Hawaii County Fire Department personnel reported the man had no signs of life when they arrived.
Police said it is unknown at this time if speed, alcohol or drugs were involved with the driver. Officers, however, did detect an odor of alcohol on the bicyclist, according to police.
Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated a negligent homicide investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Anyone with information about this crash should call Officer Tuckloy Aurello at 961-8119.
This is the third traffic fatality on a Big Island public road this year compared with two at this time in 2013.
Police searching for man, infant
Big Island police are asking the public for help locating a 34-year-old man and infant girl who were last seen Jan. 15 in the Hawaiian Acres area of Puna.
The Hawaii County Police Department is searching for Eli Evans and Jasmine Evans, 7 months. The two are believed to be in Kona, according to police, who had no further information available Tuesday morning.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts should call the Hawaii County Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311. Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
Police searching for missing Puna teen
Hawaii Island police are searching for a 14-year-old Puna boy who was reported missing.
Santana Kobayashi was last seen Saturday at his Kalapana home, according to the Hawaii County Police Department. He is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 100 pounds with brown eyes and short black hair.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311. Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
Supreme Court upholds Hawaii reapportionment
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has upheld Hawaii’s reapportionment plan that leaves out some military personnel and students when calculating population and determining state legislative districts.
The justices affirmed a lower court ruling without comment Tuesday.
Voters challenging the reapportionment plan said it wrongfully excluded more than 108,000 military members, their families and university students. But a three-judge court in Hawaii found that the plan did not violate the Constitution’s right to equal protection.
The case is Kostick v. Nago, 13-456.
2 men stabbed near Hawaii state Capitol
HONOLULU — Two men were taken to a hospital with serious injuries after a stabbing in downtown Honolulu.
According to news reports, one of the men was taken into police custody after he was released from the hospital.
Police said the men were found stabbed after a fight at a bus stop across the street from the state Capitol Monday night.
There have been five fatal stabbings in recent months involving Oahu homeless men. However, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports neither of the men who were stabbed in this incident is homeless.
Retired sugar executive Cataluna dies
LIHUE, Kauai — Retired sugar industry executive and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Donald Bruce Cataluna has died.
Cataluna died Saturday at Wilcox Memorial Hospital on Kauai at the age of 77.
His daughter Lee Cataluna told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser her father always looked beyond the plantation for ways to help the community.
He worked almost every job on the sugar plantation, from taking care of pack mules to managing some of the largest plantations in Hawaii. He spent his career with C. Brewer &Co. and was one of the industry’s first part-Hawaiian plantation managers.
The Garden Island reported Cataluna later served as a Kauai County project manager and grant administrator. He taught business classes at Kauai Community College as well as agricultural classes at Kauai Community Correctional Center.
Crew of 24 saved from sinking ship
APRA HARBOR, Guam — The U.S. Coast Guard said 24 crew members have been rescued from a sinking cargo ship that lost power in the western Pacific Ocean.
The Coast Guard said it received word Sunday morning that a vessel hauling logs to China was in trouble about 450 miles west of Guam. By Sunday afternoon, the Chinese crew of the Panama-flagged Rich Forest had abandoned the 500-foot ship and boarded life rafts.
About three hours later, bulk cargo vessel CS Sunshine reached the crew and safely rescued all of them. The abandoned ship is now adrift. The Coast Guard is warning nearby ships of the navigation hazard.
By local and wire sources