A man is in police custody after apparently driving his SUV up on a curb and hitting a girl in Kailua Village Saturday afternoon. ADVERTISING A man is in police custody after apparently driving his SUV up on a curb
A man is in police custody after apparently driving his SUV up on a curb and hitting a girl in Kailua Village Saturday afternoon.
Officers had Matthew Marso, 30, in handcuffs on the curb at Hualalai Road and Alii Drive after the white Nissan SUV he was driving struck the 13-year-old girl around 2:30 p.m. The girl was treated and was faring well Saturday evening, police said.
Several witnesses said the man tried to flee the scene but was blocked by traffic. Joshua Lambus, owner of Maka Fine Art Photography on Alii, chased the man down on a skateboard and held him until police arrived.
“I just wanted him to stop almost killing people,” said Lambus, who was following in another car behind the Marso as he headed north on Alii Drive before the SUV struck the girl.
Officers are investigating complaints of driving under the influence, second degree negligent injury, third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug, damage to property and driving without a license and proof of insurance, according to preliminary information. The list of allegations may not be complete because police were investigating on the case at deadline.
Marso was “pinballing” along Alii Drive from Magic Sands north, causing pedestrians to leap out of the way as he almost sandwiched them against the guardrail, Lambus said. Farther on, Marso appeared to strike a guardrail and to narrowly miss a bicyclist, he said.
Following the SUV north, Lambus stopped at his gallery to grab his skateboard because he knew it would be faster. He arrived on the board at the intersection of Hualalai Road in time to see the SUV strike the girl, he said.
“He hit the girl at that moment,” Lambus said. “People were onto her, so I didn’t worry about her. I rode my skateboard up to the car door, opened it, engaged the emergency brake and held him there. I yelled at him a little.”
Patrick Ahl, who works north of the intersection, said he heard the yells and arrived in time see the SUV trying to leave the scene and another car trying to block it.
It was not immediately clear whether other pedestrians along Alii had been injured by the driver.
