Man throws child onto highway
Man throws toddler onto highway
18/01/2008 07:27 - (SA)
Honolulu - A man wearing hospital scrubs threw a toddler nine metres from a pedestrian overpass onto a major highway, and the boy was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
A 23-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after witnesses saw him throwing something, followed him and called police, officials said.
One or two vehicles may have struck the two-year-old boy, but it was unclear exactly what killed him, The Honolulu Advertiser reported.
A white sheet covered the body on the westbound lanes of the H-1 freeway, a major route through downtown that police temporarily closed. The scene was just blocks from the Capitol and the governor's mansion.
The man was taken to the Honolulu police station and then to a hospital, said police spokesperson Michelle Yu. She didn't know whether the man had a history of mental illness or a criminal record.
"That will be part of the investigation," Yu said.
The man screamed "Thank you for everything" to television crews as he was escorted to a cell block. While in a police car, he rocked back and forth in the back seat.
Calm
Johnnie Bruen told KITV that the man calmly walked away from the overpass after dropping the child Thursday afternoon. Bruen later chased the man up a hill among houses and low-rise apartment buildings near the freeway.
"He didn't say anything, he didn't scream; he looked like a normal person standing there smoking a cigarette, except that he had on a smock," Bruen said. "That's just a horrible sight that I seen down there, for any man to do that to a child."
There were no reports of a missing child, police Capt. Frank Fujii said. Officers were contacting day-care centres and other area facilities to find out where the child came from.
The death sparked panic among parents who wondered whether their child might have been the victim.
Hedy Chun, director of a nearby preschool, Kamaaina Kids Honolulu, said 10 to 15 parents called to check on their children. All students were safe, she said, but her staff was shocked.
"They were just very sad and shook up," Chun said. "It's horrible."
The suspect was wearing scrubs, with the bottoms cut off as shorts. It wasn't known whether he had come from a hospital, or which one, Fujii said.
Goveror Linda Lingle, told of the incident shortly after it happened, called it a "real tragedy".
18/01/2008 07:27 - (SA)
Honolulu - A man wearing hospital scrubs threw a toddler nine metres from a pedestrian overpass onto a major highway, and the boy was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
A 23-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after witnesses saw him throwing something, followed him and called police, officials said.
One or two vehicles may have struck the two-year-old boy, but it was unclear exactly what killed him, The Honolulu Advertiser reported.
A white sheet covered the body on the westbound lanes of the H-1 freeway, a major route through downtown that police temporarily closed. The scene was just blocks from the Capitol and the governor's mansion.
The man was taken to the Honolulu police station and then to a hospital, said police spokesperson Michelle Yu. She didn't know whether the man had a history of mental illness or a criminal record.
"That will be part of the investigation," Yu said.
The man screamed "Thank you for everything" to television crews as he was escorted to a cell block. While in a police car, he rocked back and forth in the back seat.
Calm
Johnnie Bruen told KITV that the man calmly walked away from the overpass after dropping the child Thursday afternoon. Bruen later chased the man up a hill among houses and low-rise apartment buildings near the freeway.
"He didn't say anything, he didn't scream; he looked like a normal person standing there smoking a cigarette, except that he had on a smock," Bruen said. "That's just a horrible sight that I seen down there, for any man to do that to a child."
There were no reports of a missing child, police Capt. Frank Fujii said. Officers were contacting day-care centres and other area facilities to find out where the child came from.
The death sparked panic among parents who wondered whether their child might have been the victim.
Hedy Chun, director of a nearby preschool, Kamaaina Kids Honolulu, said 10 to 15 parents called to check on their children. All students were safe, she said, but her staff was shocked.
"They were just very sad and shook up," Chun said. "It's horrible."
The suspect was wearing scrubs, with the bottoms cut off as shorts. It wasn't known whether he had come from a hospital, or which one, Fujii said.
Goveror Linda Lingle, told of the incident shortly after it happened, called it a "real tragedy".
Heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking.
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