A 21-year-old Kailua-Kona man was arrested early the morning of April 4 after allegedly nearly hitting a Hawai‘i Police Department officer with a car while the officer was responding to the scene of a traffic crash on Palani Road in Kona.
The officer, fearing for his life, fired his gun at least two times at the vehicle as it careened toward him.
Akira Kauilani of Kailua-Kona was taken into custody for reckless endangering, operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and other traffic-related offenses following the incident just after 3 a.m. Friday at the Konalani Street intersection with Palani Road, near the 37-mile marker in Kailua-Kona.
Kona Patrol officers responded at about 1:30 a.m. to the area on the report of a traffic crash. When they arrived, they found a vehicle hit a utility pole, causing it and live eletrcial wires to fall and block Palani Road…