Man charged in fatal hit-and-run; victim ID’d in documents

Police reportedly phoned a motorist early Monday morning after he allegedly hit and killed a pedestrian in Kona and then abandoned his car.

Officers ran the license plates of an abandoned green 2015 Subaru Forester that struck the pedestrian, a 38-year-old Kailua-Kona man, just south of the Kaloko and Honokohau intersection of Queen Kaahumanu Highway in North Kona.

They learned the registered owner was 34-year-old Garrett Aadom Duran of Keauhou, according to documents filed by police.

Shortly thereafter, an officer called Duran, who told the officer he was at the south-side dead end of Kanalani Street, about a block away from the crash scene, the documents state. Arriving officers noted Duran fit the description of a man passersby witnessed leaving the collision scene.

The suspect was described as a scruffy-looking, long-haired Caucasian man clad in shorts and a grey tank top.

When police found Duran, he appeared unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech, red, watery, glassy eyes, and smelled of alcohol. He refused a sobriety test, police said.

He was arrested, a warrant was obtained, and his blood was drawn by Clinical Labs of Hawaii.

Duran, who had a California driver’s license and previously lived in Ontario, Calif., was charged with first-degree negligent homicide, DUI, leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious bodily injury, and driving without insurance.

The complaint against Duran, a publicly available document, identified the victim — who died in Kona Community Hospital shortly after the collision — as Christian Lipka.

According to Lipka’s Facebook page, he recently moved to Kona from Hilo, had previously lived in Kahului, Maui, and was originally from Hollywood, Fla. Lipka described himself as a “digital creator” on the page.

Duran has no felony convictions, but does have a prior DUI conviction within the past 15 years, and county Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen said the negligent homicide charge with the prior DUI is a Class A felony carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence upon conviction.

Leaving the scene of an accident involving death or serious bodily injury is a Class B felony with a potential 10-year prison term.

At Duran’s initial court appearance today, Deputy Public Defender Lezlie Kiaha said a report by Intake Service Center recommended Duran be freed on supervised release — a form of cashless bail — and requested the judge follow the recommendation.

Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Woodward asked that Kona District Judge Mahilani Hiatt maintain Duran’s bail at $106,000.

Hiatt maintained Duran’s bail and ordered him to return to court Friday for a preliminary hearing.

Duran remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.