Judge: Sufficient evidence to support felony charges against Wailuku man
Officers testify that he was driving erratically before hitting pedestrian
WAILUKU — A car was traveling erratically and going into oncoming traffic before it veered onto the shoulder of Honoapiilani Highway in Waikapu and hit a pedestrian who “flew about 20 feet in the air” and landed facedown on the ground, a police officer testified Wednesday.
The car sped up toward Wailuku with its engine revving, officer Michael Russell said, while he stopped to help the injured 27-year-old Waikapu man shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday.
“He was writhing and screaming on the ground,” Russell said. “His face was completely covered in blood. One of his front teeth was missing.”
Russell and other officers testified at a preliminary hearing in Wailuku District Court for Marcus Ruggiero, who was identified as the driver of the dark blue Nissan Altima that police said was being driven recklessly from Lahaina to Wailuku to Paia to Makena that morning.
A couple of hours after the collision, Kihei patrol officers responded to an 8:25 a.m. call about a reckless driver who fled after hitting a parked car near Makena State Park and located Ruggiero in the Nissan at La Perouse Bay, police said.
Ruggiero was sweaty and disoriented, said officer Daniel Devine.
He said the Nissan “was pretty beat up.”
“The windshield was shattered on the driver’s side,” Devine said. “There was a circular imprint with what looked like dried blood.”
Officer Russell, who lives in Lahaina, testified he was in his personal car and on his way to work in Wailuku at 5:10 a.m. when he began following the Nissan as he drove onto the Lahaina bypass from Lahainaluna Road.
“The car was driving really, really slow, about 20 miles an hour” in the 45-mph zone, Russell said.
He called police dispatch to report a reckless driver while following the car as it crossed left of center multiple times and traveled at speeds ranging from 15 to 60 mph on Honoapiilani Highway to Wailuku, Russell said.
He said the Nissan went through a red light at North Kihei Road.
Approaching Kahili Golf Course in Waikapu, the Nissan went into the oncoming Lahaina-bound lane, then “jerked back” to avoid a head-on collision with a box truck, Russell said. He said the Nissan then veered off onto the right shoulder with all four tires on the shoulder when the car hit the pedestrian.
After hearing a description of the Nissan over the police radio at 6:13 a.m., Sgt. Christina Bonacorsi saw the Nissan a couple of minutes later as it was turning right from Haleakala Highway onto Hana Highway, Russell said.
Because she wasn’t available to testify Wednesday, Russell testified about observations in her police report. Bonacorsi identified Ruggiero, whom she knows from previous police contact, as driving the Nissan, Russell said.
She activated the lights and siren on her police vehicle and tried to pull over the Nissan, Russell said. He said she reported following the Nissan for 15 miles while Ruggiero didn’t stop.
An all-points bulletin had been issued for the vehicle before Kihei patrol officer Eric Grundy initiated the traffic stop in the La Perouse Bay parking lot and arrested Ruggiero.
“His eyes were red and watery,” Grundy said. “His speech was fast at times and somewhat slurred. I would say he was unsteady on his feet.”
Grundy said he could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle.
He said police will seek a search warrant for the vehicle, which was impounded.
In the Nissan, “there was a bag containing a pretty good amount of green leafy vegetation resembling marijuana,” officer Devine testified.
Traffic officer David Potter of the police Vehicle Homicide Unit said he spoke Wednesday morning with the man who was injured when he was hit by the vehicle in Waikapu.
The man, who is recovering at a friend’s residence in Kihei, reported he was running toward Maalaea on the paved shoulder of the highway and
is sworn in to testify Wednesday at a preliminary hearing in Wailuku District Court for Marcus Ruggiero.
facing oncoming traffic that morning when he saw a vehicle’s headlights on the horizon, Potter said.
“The next time he really observed the vehicle, that vehicle was already 10 feet away from him,” Potter said. “The driver was nearly in front of him. It was the driver’s side that actually hit him.”
Potter said the victim wears a runner’s light on his forehead “so he can be seen.”
On Wednesday, the victim was in pain and “barely able to speak,” Potter said.
The Maui Memorial Medical Center emergency room doctor who treated the victim reported he suffered injuries including a nasal fracture and jaw fracture and would need facial reconstructive surgery, said officer Mitchell Navarro.
After hearing the officers’ testimony, Judge Matson Kelley ruled there was sufficient evidence to support felony charges of leaving the scene of a collision involving serious bodily injury, first-degree negligent injury and habitually driving under the influence of an intoxicant against Ruggiero, 56, of Wailuku.
The judge found the evidence
offered didn’t support the charge of first-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle.
Deputy Public Defender Zach Raidmae argued that charge would require evidence of evading the police while operating a vehicle in reckless disregard of other people.
Ruggiero is also charged with two counts of driving while his license was suspended or revoked, three counts of reckless driving, duty upon striking an unattended vehicle and duty to give information and render aid.
While Ruggiero asked to have his bail reduced, Deputy Prosecutor Lewis Littlepage argued for bail to remain at $500,000.
“This man is an extreme danger to the public,” Littlepage said.
Judge Kelley kept bail at $500,000.
Ruggiero, who is also being held in two other pending cases, is set to be arraigned Oct. 13 in 2nd Circuit Court.