The man said to be the driver in a deadly hit and run last weekend made his initial court appearance. Mark Salangdron was charged with negligent homicide and fleeing the scene of an accident in Kaneohe.
His alleged passenger, Elijah Kawai-Aweau, was also in court charged with hindering prosecution in the the case.
Court documents reveal that on the night of June 1st both men attended a house party in Kaneohe near Coral Kingdom. A witness told police she saw Salangdron and Kawai-Aweau drinking alcohol and that both men appeared to be intoxicated – both had a hard time walking and had slurred speech.
Around 2:00 in the morning, the group left the party. Salangdron and Kawai-Aweau left in a pickup truck. The witness and several friends followed behind. She told police she saw a man on the side of the road jump into the path of the pick-up truck. The witness says she stopped but Salangdron drove off.
The pedestrian died at the scene and was later identified as Matthew Fragas. His father told police Fragas had been arguing with his wife at home and that he told his son to leave to "cool-off".
Also in court documents, the witness says she raced after Salangdron and pleaded with him to do the right thing at which time he yelled out "You guys not saying nothing!"
The witness told police she feared Salangdron and Kawai-Aweau who told her "She better keep her mouth shut or she would get hurt."
In one instance Kawai-Aweau approached her at work and again she tried telling him to do the right thing. But he told her "No!". "If I find out you went talk to the police I’m coming after you."
Another witness and co-worker of Salangdron and Kawai-Aweau told police he too saw the pick-up hit Fragas and avoided going to work because he feared both men.
Co-workers say Salangdron lost his own father in a deadly crash on the H-1 freeway in 2004. Melvin Salangdron was working in a Safety Systems Hawaii truck, preparing the zipper lane for morning rush hour, when he was hit. Mark was Melvin’s youngest son.
Salangdron is being held in police custody his bail is set at $250,000. Kawai-Aweau’s bail is $150,000. Both men will be back in court Wednesday afternoon for their preliminary hearing.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
