HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION
SERGEANT RANDY K. APELE
PHONE: 961-2305
APRIL 21, 2003
MEDIA RELEASE
Hilo police issued 86 citations and arrested and charged a motorist with 11 traffic offenses Friday (April 18, 2003) as part of a speed enforcement project.
The purpose of the project, which involves the use of speed checkpoints, is to reduce fatalities and injuries caused by speeding and illegal racing on the Big Island, according to Sergeant Randy K. Apele of the Traffic Services Section.
As part of the speed enforcement project, Martha Mercedes Tang, 44, of a Mountain View, Puna, address, was arrested and charged with 11 offenses — including leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident involving damage to a vehicle and property, driving without a license, fraudulent use of a license plate and driving an unsafe vehicle.
Tang allegedly was involved in an accident that occurred at 4:05 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of Longs Drugs on Kilauea Avenue. Tang’s vehicle allegedly struck a parked car, several shopping carts and a wall, then left the scene without her reporting it. She was stopped near the Afook Chinen Auditorium at 4:30 p.m. when police noticed damage to her car. She was arrested and later charged and released on her own recognizance.
In another incident, police initiated an improper safety inspection investigation of a service station after they stopped a motorist driving a vehicle having illegal tints on the windows.
Apele said police islandwide will continue speed checkpoints to reduce speeding and unsafe vehicles on Big Island roads.
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