WAIKAPU, Hawaii (KITV4) -- A Good Samaritan is being credited with helping to track down at hit-and-run driver accused of critically injuring a moped rider on Maui, Tuesday morning.
The crash happened just after 10 a.m. on Honoapiilani Highway, near Wilikona Place, in Waikapu.
According to Maui Police, a 38-year-old Lahaina man was driving south of Honoapiilani Highway when he allegedly rear-ended a moped rider that was also driving southbound. The driver then continued driving without stopping or checking on the moped rider.
As a result of the crash, investigators say the moped rider – a 32-year-old Wailuku woman – was caught in the undercarriage of the car and dragged a “significant” distance before she was dislodged. The moped rider suffered critical injuries in the crash and was taken to the Maui memorial Medical Center where she remains.
A Good Samaritan who allegedly witnessed the crash followed the driver and called police. Officers were able to stop the vehicle in the Olowalu area where they arrested the driver. That driver has been identified as Jermaine Mudong.
Mudong was booked on complaints of first-degree negligent injury, collisions involving death or serious injury, operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, and third-degree promoting a detrimental drug. He has since been released pending investigation.
No other information has been released. This case remains under investigation.
Matthew has been the digital content manager for KITV4 since September 2021. Matthew is a prolific writer, editor, and self-described "newsie" who's worked in television markets in Oklahoma, California, and Hawaii.
