A Hilo woman facing numerous criminal offenses in connection with a vehicle pursuit earlier this week is scheduled to make her initial court appearance Thursday.
Helena Pang, 33, is facing one count of resisting an order to stop, driving without a driver’s license, first-degree criminal property damage, reckless driving, three counts of second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, three counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, and two counts of prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia in connection with the Monday incident. Bail was set at $277,000.
The charges stem from around noon Monday when police attempted to stop a white Honda sedan that was speeding and overtaking vehicles traveling down Mohouli Street from Kaumana Drive in Hilo.
The pursuit continued onto Haihai Street when the suspect struck an uninvolved motorist stopped in traffic at the Kilauea Avenue intersection. The suspect then reversed and struck the pursuing officer’s subsidized vehicle before turning onto the Kilauea Avenue Extension and heading in the Puna direction toward Highway 11, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Neither the uninvolved motorist nor the police officer were seriously injured.
Assisting officers continued their search for the suspect vehicle and found it abandoned on Mamaki Street after it crashed into an embankment near the intersection with Highway 11. Bystanders in the area told police that the female driver, and the sole occupant, fled into the nearby brush, according to police.
Police reportedly recovered a container of suspected drugs and paraphernalia while searching for the suspect in the brush.
At 12:22 p.m., Pang was arrested without incident at the scene. She was taken to the Hilo cellblock while the Area I Criminal Investigation and Vice Section continued the investigation.
Police subsequently recovered 29.4 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 25.4 grams of black-tar heroin after search warrants were served on the container found at the scene and Pang’s vehicle.
At 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, police charged Pang with one count of resisting an order to stop, driving without a driver’s license, first-degree criminal property damage, reckless driving, three counts of second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, three counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, and two counts of prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia. Her bail was set at $277,000 pending an initial court appearance scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Anyone who may have information about these incidents should call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311 or Officer Jared Cabatu of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at 961-8222.