Joshua Apo, 29, was released Oct. 9 after serving his sentence, according to a website that tracks state prisoners.

At about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, police said officers responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle and found Apo asleep in a silver Nissan sedan parked in front of a residence on East Waiko Road in Waikapu.

When officers approached the car and woke up Apo, he looked at the officers and reversed his car into a police car parked behind him before speeding away, police said. Two officers standing next to Apo’s vehicle had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over, police said.

The officers had activated their emergency lights and sirens and were following as Apo turned onto Honoapiilani Highway, then turned onto Kuihelani Highway, driving the wrong way in the southbound lanes, police said.

He continued speeding north in the southbound lanes and collided head-on with a black Scion that was traveling south on the highway in Kahului at about 4 p.m., police said. A blue Hyundai that was also traveling south collided into the Scion.

The Scion driver, 33-year-old Melissa Egbert of Lahaina, also died of injuries she suffered in the collision. She was a lecturer in the English Department at the University of Hawaii Maui College.

According to court records, Apo’s criminal history includes convictions for third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, possessing drug paraphernalia, two counts of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, first-degree assault against a police officer, resisting arrest, resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle, three counts of driving without a license, possessing burglar’s tools and two counts of abuse.

Many of the charges stemmed from his arrest in May 2008 when Apo was driving a stolen 1996 Honda Accord and dragged then-DUI Task Force officer Nick Krau as he leaned into the car. At the time, Apo was on probation in a case involving a stolen motorcycle.

When Apo was sentenced in October 2008 for assaulting Krau and driving the stolen car, then-2nd Circuit Judge Joel August told Apo he was “extremely fortunate you didn’t get shot that night.”

August noted that the owner of the stolen car had to use some of her retirement money to buy a car to replace the trashed Honda. “Do you have any understanding at all about how your actions affect people?” the judge asked Apo. “It’s one thing to cause havoc in your own life, but it’s another to cause havoc in other people’s lives.”

In March 2012, after Apo was arrested for drug possession, his probation was revoked in both prior cases and he was sentenced to a five-year prison term for third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possessing drug paraphernalia, court records show.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.