Pedestrian struck, killed in Hilo 04-07-03

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT UNIT
SERGEANT SAMUEL JELSMA
PHONE: 961-2332
APRIL 6, 2003
H-44350

MEDIA RELEASE

A 57-year-old Hilo man died Saturday afternoon (April 5, 2003) of injuries he suffered after being struck by a motor vehicle at the intersection of Kinoole and Kukuau streets in Hilo the night before.

The victim was identified as Steven Estevan-Vargas, of a Hilo address.

Responding to a 9:03 p.m. call Friday, police determined that the victim was within the Kukuau Street intersection when he was struck by a 1996 Honda Civic sedan driven by Alvin Medeiros, 26, of Hilo, which had been heading south on Kinoole Street. Several witnesses saw the collision and reported that the Honda had been traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the impact and weather conditions had been rainy. The victim appears to have not been in a crosswalk at the time he was struck.

The victim was transported to the Hilo Medical Center with head injuries and later flown to the Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu. At 4:30 p.m. Saturday, he was pronounced dead.

Neither the driver nor his front-seat passenger, Timothy Perreira, 30, of Hilo, was injured in the accident.

Medeiros was arrested at the time for negligent injury. Alcohol was suspected as a contributing factor, and a mandatory blood sample was taken from the driver. He has since been released pending further investigation and blood test results.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have reclassified the case as a negligent homicide and are continuing the investigation. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.

This was the second traffic fatality of the weekend and the sixth traffic-related fatality on the Big Island so far this year, compared to 11 at the same time last year.

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