HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A 59-year-old man is dead after ramming his motorcyclist into a rock embankment on Hawaii Island Thursday evening.

Police responded to the scene around 5:40 p.m. at the intersection of Mamaloha Highway and Leilani Street.

Officials said the motorcyclist overtook several vehicles near the Manuka State Park entrance, before striking a rock embankment and flying off his motorcycle.

He was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The motorcyclist remains unidentified at this time, pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.

It’s part of a deadly trend on Hawaii Island roads.

This is now the 18th traffic fatality this year compared to just 8 at this time last year.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HILO — Heavy rain and a flash flood advisory didn’tstop the 2024 Big Island Hawaii Youth Soccer Association (HYSA) Championships from happening as youth club teams across the island ranging from U8 to U19 gathered for the playoff and championship games at Hilo’s popular Bayfront Soccer Fields.

Saturday morning dawned clear with sunny skies which seemingly set the stage for great weather conditions however, by early afternoon, the weather took a dramatic turn, echoing the heavy rain and flash flood advisory that had been issued earlier in the week. The famous saying, “It wouldn’t be Hilo without the rain,” certainly rang true as the skies opened up to a relentless downpour which ultimately transformed the fields into a slippery, muddy mess.

With the heavy rain continuing throughout the afternoon and night, safety concerns led to the cancellation of Sunday morning’s U8, U10 and U12 championship games. Despite these setbacks, BIHYSA organizers quickly adapted moving the older U14, U16, and U19 games to the nearby UH Hilo Vulcan Soccer Field made of synthetic turf. The all-weather pitch proved to be a saving grace which allowed the championship games to proceed without further disruption.

Among Sunday’s championship matches, three Kona Crush teams — U14 Girls, U14 Boys Premier and U19 Boys made it to the final round which became an instant east-side versus west-side, or Hilo versus Kona matchup. In a gut-wrenching overtime followed by penalty kicks, the U14 Girls Kona Crush Soccer Academy were narrowly defeated by Surf 10G Academy. Later, the U19 Kona Crush Boys gave it their all but ultimately fell short (2 – 1) against Rush BI 2005B.

The Kona Crush U14 Boy’s Premier team faced off against their cross-island rival — the undefeated Rush BI 2010B Premier team — who had bested them twice during the regular season. The transition to turf facilitated an exciting game on both sides, showcasing adept ball handling skills, powerful headers and precision shots throughout the match.

Rush BI took a 2 – 0 lead during the beginning of the first half, but Kona Crush quickly rallied with winger Remi Heimgartner scoring a goal followed by a hat-trick from Bodie Buczyna giving Crush a 4 – 2 lead. From there it was a dog-fight till the end with Rush BI scoring four goals and Crush scoring another three from a combination of an own goal, Buczyna and striker, Carson Wilt.

For spectators the game were both intense and thrilling, but in the end, it was the Kona Crush U14 Boy’s Premier who emerged victorious 7 – 6.

Walking off the synthetic pitch after scoring four goals and wearing his championship medal around his neck, Buczyna had a wide smile. The 14-year old who attends Hawaii Preparatory Academy, said he started playing soccer at age 4. He follows Barcelona and his favorite player is Pablo Gavi.

“I was really confident going into it,” Buczyna said of his preparation for the game. “I think our team played just like we should have. We lost to Rush two games in a row (in the regular season), but coming into the game, we knew we trained for this so I knew we were ready for them. I knew we were going to win.”

Buczyna added that after his first goal, he kept finding open spaces. Soccer phenom and center mid-fielder, Koa Kreps, helped to create opportunities by providing key assists to make the goals look as seamless as watching professional soccer.

Fabian Rummel, who is the Director of Technical Development and Head Coach for U14 Boys Premier and U16 Girls, was ecstatic of the team’s win stating, “It was brilliant!”

“At the end of the day we won against Rush Boys who we haven’t won in a long while as they have been unbeaten all season,” said the 29-year old German native. “I think we should’ve had a chance when we played the first game against them (in the regular season), and they got the better of us in the second game, but today was an open game on both sides and at the end of the day, we deserved to win and I’m super proud of the boys.”

Rummel added that the difference was the level of play and intensity that his team brought to the pitch.

“I think mostly it’s about bringing the intensity for the boys,” he said. “They know that if they show up and play up to their level, they are not beatable on the island. They also did well at the (Hawaii) State Cup, they got the feeling and the taste of how we can play really well. And ever since then, they know that when we show up, we have a quality team.

“I’m also super proud of the (U14) girls. I know they lost in the final today after being the regular season champions. To see them grow as a group and how they work together has been brilliant to see, and so I’m super happy for them and all the U14 teams.”

Players on the Kona Crush U14 Boys Premier team were Bodie Buczyna, TJ Detwiler, Carson Wilt, Cole Polhemus, Kauanoe Park-Vares, Remi Heimgartner, Koa Kreps, Hawea “Buffalo” Alapai, Makena Young, Leimana David-Champman, Wade Ritchie, ‘A’ali’i Wengler-Ioane, and Makana Shimabukuro. Other rostered players were Benjamin Harms, Cole Henderson, Hana Kreps, Vaiana Lussiaa, and Evangeline Lehmann.

The five club soccer teams who won their respective “A Brackets” in the BIHYSA Championships in Hilo and crowned champions were the following:

U14 Boys Champions – Kona Crush 14 U Premier

(Finalists – Rush BI 2010B Premier)

U14 Girls Champions – Surf 10G Academy

(Finalists – Kona Crush Soccer Academy 14U Girls)

U16 Boys Champions – Na Hoa O Puna 16UB

(Finalists – Rush BI 2008B)

U19 Girls Champions – Rush BI 2006G

(Finalists – Surf 06G Academy)

U19 Boys Champions – Rush BI 2005B

(Finalists – Kona Crush Soccer Academy 19U)

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As of Monday, it is no longer illegal in Hawaii to carry a dangerous weapon in public — and switchblade and butterfly knives are no longer banned.

That change led to an alarming sight in Waikiki at sunset Tuesday.

The governor signed HB 2342 into law Monday without fanfare, making it immediately legal to openly carry weapons that were banned in public until now.

Gun rights activist Andrew Namiki Roberts, leader of the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, decided to celebrate in a very visual way, brandishing medieval bladed weapons in a public park.

Video of the display was posted on the Coalition’s Facebook page.

“I can be down here with my halberd, walk around with it, and not break the law,” Roberts said, in the video. “I also have an 18-inch Viking axe, perfectly legal.

“The other thing that’s now legal was switch blades and butterfly knives you can own possess and carry them as long as it’s done openly.”

Attorney Alan Beck, who has represented Hawaii gun owners in lawsuits against the state and county’s gun control laws, is in the process of challenging the state’s ban on switchblade and butterfly knives. He said the new law was designed to blunt that lawsuit, by partially loosening the restrictions.

“You can now open carry any dangerous and deadly weapon. And the law now only prohibits the concealed carry of those weapons,” Beck said.

State Solicitor General Kaliko’onālani Fernandes, who represents the Attorney General in appeals courts, said despite the loosening of some restrictions, existing laws can protect the public.

“It’s a serious crime, both before and after this bill, to carry a weapon in a manner that threatens or terrorizes others,” she said.

Roberts emphasized in his video that he had no intention of using the weapons to scare anyone, even though he admitted they were frightening.

“It’s 6 foot tall. It’s basically a spear, axe, hook all at once. It scares the bejesus out of me. It really, really, really does. But it’s perfectly legal for me to carry as long as I do so safely,” he said, in the video.

In hearings on the bill, the attorney general said the change was to modernize and align Hawaii’s concealed weapons laws with other places and court rulings.

But some testifiers said it didn’t make any sense to legalize knives only to carry them in public.

Michael Rice, who appeared via Zoom from his home, used a small knife on a clip inside his shirt to explain.

“This is concealed — so, that’s a felony. Now this isn’t concealed. You know, if I’m running down the street with a butterfly knife in my hands, does that make it any better than if I just got it slipped in my pocket?” Rice said.

The new law also says people who legally carry concealed firearms will face felony charges if they commit even a minor crime, like driving without a license.

The state Public Defender’s office, represented by Jerry Villanueva, found itself allied with gun owners in questioning the language of the proposal, which didn’t seem to provide exemptions for crimes not related to the firearm.

“But if they are validly in possession of a firearm, but they’re driving without a valid driver’s license as a misdemeanor, then they also could face a Class C felony,” Villanueva said.

But prosecutors and the state Attorney General’s Office said there would have to be some relationship between the firearm and the crime to trigger the higher charge.

“For decades, it’s been a felony under state law, to possess a firearm while committing a crime,” Fernandes said. “So this bill does not meaningfully change the scope of that existing prohibition.”

Beck called on the attorney general to publicly clarify how the new law will be enforced, but Fernandes said could not comment on specific hypotheticals.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.