Police took a 28-year-old Captain Cook man into custody in connection with a domestic violence incident that led to a pursuit and single-vehicle crash on Thursday.
Weston Duarte was arrested on suspicion of: domestic abuse, second-degree reckless endangering, second-degree terroristic threatening, reckless driving, DUI, resisting an order to stop, and driving without a license and insurance.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., Kona patrol officers responded to a residence in the 82-6100 block of Napoopoo Road in Captain Cook after Central Dispatch received 911 text messages from a 35-year-old woman reporting that she needed help. The woman reportedly told police her boyfriend, Weston Duarte, was high, refused to return her vehicle and car keys, threatened to kill her, and had an outstanding arrest warrant.
The woman reported that she and Duarte were inside her gray Mazda 3 sedan parked in her driveway. She alleged Duarte was armed, using methamphetamine and had physically assaulted her.
Officers arriving at 5:10 p.m. spotted the Mazda sedan speeding down the driveway, police said. The vehicle, registered to the victim, continued south on Napoopoo Road with a man matching Duarte’s description driving and the woman crying in the back seat.
Officers pursued the Mazda but lost sight of it. A short time later, officers saw the same car heading north in the southbound lane on Highway 11, traveling at a high rate of speed. The vehicle swerved back into the northbound lane and continued out of view.
At 6:06 p.m., officers discovered the vehicle after it had crashed near the 109-mile marker on Highway 11. Duarte was found on the roadway and arrested. Hawaii Fire Department medics responded to the scene.
Both Duarte and the woman were taken by ambulance to Kona Community Hospital. The woman remains there in stable condition.
Duarte was transferred to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu for further treatment.
Potential witnesses are asked to call the police non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311. Those who prefer anonymity may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.