WAILUA — A 38-year-old woman lying down on a section of beach known as “Kitchens” in Wailua was run over by a pickup truck riding on oversized tires yesterday afternoon, according to county spokeswoman Mary Daubert. The woman, whose identity
WAILUA — A 38-year-old woman lying down on a section of beach known as “Kitchens” in Wailua was run over by a pickup truck riding on oversized tires yesterday afternoon, according to county spokeswoman Mary Daubert.
The woman, whose identity had not been released by authorities as of press time, was taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. According to comments made by medical personnel in conversations with emergency dispatchers, the woman was complaining of extreme pain in her head, shoulder and back.
Daubert said last night that the woman’s injuries were “serious” and that a police officer had been told by Wilcox personnel they were considering evacuating her to The Queen’s Medical Center on O‘ahu.
Minutes before 3 p.m., a not-yet-identified 20-year-old Wailua man operating a white Nissan truck had been driving along the waterline. He then turned up toward the vegetation line on a stretch of beach south of the Kamalani Kai bridge, driving between two groups of people and running over the woman, Daubert said.
Although there were other sunbathers nearby, no other injuries were reported, Daubert said.
According to the Kaua‘i Police Department, driving on the beach is illegal except to pick up and drop off equipment.
Personnel conversing on an emergency dispatch frequency said the vehicle had “50-inch tires,” but Daubert said the exact measurements had not been released by the Kaua‘i Police Department.
Section 291-35.1 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes says the maximum bumper height for a vehicle weighing between 7,501 and 10,000 pounds is 35 inches off the ground. The maximum bumper height for a vehicle weighing between 4,501 and 7,500 is 33 inches.
Daubert said no arrests had been made nor citations issued yesterday, but noted the incident was still under investigation.
