Agustin Dela Cruz celebrates his 73rd birthday with co-workers at Fleetwood’s on Front Street last year. The Lahaina resident died after a truck struck him from behind while he was riding his bicycle home from work Saturday night. Family members described him as a hardworking father of six who juggled three jobs and helped provide for his 20 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, including some in the Philippines. Photo courtesy of Dela Cruz family

WAILUKU — Seventy-three-year-old Lahaina resident Agustin Dela Cruz was riding his bicycle home after work Saturday night when he was struck from behind by a truck and killed in a hit-and-run collision on Front Street.

“He is the last one to go home,” said his daughter-in-law Feline Dela Cruz. “He is a workaholic. He works so hard.”

She and other family members remembered the father of six who had two full-time jobs and one part-time job and helped provide for his 20 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, including some in the Philippines.

“He said, ‘I will provide everything, what you guys need, until my last,’ ” said his son Allan Dela Cruz, the second oldest. “That’s what’s so sad. He gave everything.”

His family members and friends were in the courtroom gallery Tuesday as the driver arrested after the crash made an initial appearance in Lahaina District Court, convening in Wailuku.

Saul Lopez Martinez, 52, of Lahaina was charged with first-degree negligent homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, habitually driving under the influence of an intoxicant and driving after his license was suspended or revoked for impaired driving.

Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Segal asked for bail to remain at $502,000 for Martinez, who was located by police about an hour after the collision at 10:34 p.m. Saturday on Front Street in Lahaina. Police said a preliminary investigation showed Martinez was driving a 2004 Ford F-150 truck north and crossing Kahoma Kai Stream Bridge when he collided into the rear of Dela Cruz, who was also traveling north and operating a silver Xtreme generic electric bicycle.

Martinez fled after the collision before police DUI Task Force officers located him in the truck in the nearby Safeway parking lot, police said.

“There were fresh damages to his truck matching the description from a witness,” Segal said.

He said a breath test done six hours after the crash measured Martinez’s blood-alcohol level at 0.121 percent, which is over the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Martinez told police he began drinking alcohol at work and continued at a local sports bar “to the point he claims he blacked out and doesn’t remember anything,” Segal said.

He said Martinez was convicted of his second DUI on Jan. 24 and had his driver’s license revoked for three years. Because of COVID procedures, Martinez had been scheduled to turn himself in this month at the Maui Community Correctional Center to serve a five-day jail term as part of his sentence for the DUI conviction.

He had been ordered to install an ignition interlock device in order to drive, and the investigation so far showed he hadn’t done that, Segal said.

He said the prosecution would seek a forensic expert to determine whether Martinez was highly intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent or more at the time of the crash.

“We also are investigating the issue of whether the failure to render aid and leaving the scene contributed to this innocent victim’s death,” Segal said.

“Based on the defendant’s serious recidivist history, the state is concerned about the defendant’s attitude towards drunk driving,” Segal added. “Simply put, he does not care. Without sufficient monetary bail, it is almost guaranteed he will commit another offense.”

Deputy Public Defender Andres Tobar asked for bail to be reduced for Martinez, saying conditions could be imposed to ensure public safety.

Judge Chris Dunn kept bail at $502,000 and imposed conditions sought by the prosecution. If he posts bail to be released, Martinez was ordered not to drive, not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs and to install a continuous alcohol monitoring device. He also was ordered to abide by a curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. and to stay away from any establishment serving alcohol.

After the court hearing, family members said Dela Cruz worked full time as a dishwasher at Fleetwood’s on Front Street and Lahaina Yacht Club and part time sweeping at Whalers General Store.

“We tell him, ‘Tatang, stop working too much. You’re getting old,’ ” Feline Dela Cruz said. “He said, ‘I’m stronger than you.’ ”

She said Dela Cruz helped one son build a house in the Philippines and had just paid off a van there so his grandchildren and great-grandchildren could ride inside.

Dela Cruz, who had his bicycle for about five years, would take the route along Front Street instead of Honoapiilani Highway to get home because he thought it was safer with the 20-mph speed limit, his daughter-in-law said.

She said he was halfway to his house on the mauka side of Honoapiilani Highway near Safeway when he was hit. When Dela Cruz didn’t make it home Saturday night, his daughter’s boyfriend went to look for his bicycle along Front Street before coming upon the crash scene. He identified the bicycle belonging to Dela Cruz, who had been transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Shocked family members rushed to the hospital, where they learned he had died, his daughter-in-law said.

Dela Cruz, who moved to Maui in 2016, had been planning a trip to the Philippines with his wife. Family members had been planning a surprise between the couple’s 52nd wedding anniversary April 28 and his 74th birthday May 28, his son Allan said.

“But now no more,” he said “We’re going to send him home.”

On Tuesday night, a GoFundMe account set up by the family had raised more than $26,000 of a $50,000 goal to bury Dela Cruz in his homeland in Dumalneg, Ilocos Norte.

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