Puna Man Arrested and Charged for Intentionally Striking Pedestrian with Vehicle 

Hawai‘i Island police detectives have arrested and charged 40-year-old Spencer Kamuela Young Gun Chun, of Kurtistown, for intentionally striking a pedestrian with his vehicle in the parking lot of a shopping center in Pāhoa.

The charges against Chun stem from an incident on Saturday, January 25, 2025, shortly before 7:00 pm., in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 15-2700 block of Pāhoa Village Road.

A Puna patrol officer patrolling the area observed traffic to be backed up at one of the shopping center entrances, and then observed two males potentially involved in an altercation. As the officer investigated further, it was determined that a 39-year-old male was crossing a crosswalk to enter the shopping center, he stopped as there was a white Jeep on the roadway, the jeep stopped and the operator (Chun) and the victim gestured to each other, and the victim then began to cross the crosswalk. The Jeep turned towards the victim and accelerated directly towards him, striking him and knocking him to the ground.

The Jeep was recovered as evidence, pending execution of a search warrant for a mechanical inspection.

On Monday morning, January 27, 2025, upon conferral with Hawai‘i County Prosecutors, Chun was charged with:

• Second-degree assault
• Driving without a valid driver’s license
  

Chun’s bail was set at $21,000. He was scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Tuesday, January 28.

The Area I Criminal Investigation Section is continuing this investigation. Police ask anyone who may have witnessed this incident to contact the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.