WAILUKU - Maui police on Saturday identified the victim of a Friday hit-and-run as Aigars Gulbis, 43.
Gulbis was struck by a pickup truck around 12:20 a.m. Friday on Hana Highway, near Waa Place in Kuau, an area without streetlights or sidewalks, according to police. The driver did not stop and help Gulbis, they said.
Gulbis was visiting Maui from the Republic of Latvia, a former Soviet bloc country in the Baltic region of northern Europe. Police said that Gulbis was either on or near the highway at the time of the crash.
It was raining at the time of the collision, police said, and the vehicle was heading east on Hana Highway when it hit Gulbis, who died on the road. Nearby residents called police after hearing the crash and seeing a vehicle drive away, police said.
Later Friday, authorities arrested a 24-year-old Haiku man suspected of being the driver in the hit-and-run crash and seized his truck. The man was later released pending further investigation. Authorities also are looking into whether alcohol or drugs played a role in the collision, according to a crash synopsis released Saturday by police.
The Maui News in general does not release the name of suspects until they have been formally charged with a crime.
