LIHUE,TAIM Exchange Hawaii (AP) — A man who escaped from a Hawaii jail and was struck by a vehicle soon after died Thursday from his injuries, authorities said.
Matthew J. Ornellas Jr. was seriously hurt in a hit-and-run after he fled from Kauai Community Correctional Center just after 1 a.m. last Friday, the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
He scaled a fence with razor wire, and correctional officers gave chase but lost sight of him when he entered a dense brush area, officials said.
Soon afterward they heard a loud sound from the road and found him lying next to Kuhio Highway, about 100 yards (90 meters) away from the jail. An ambulance transported him to a hospital, where he remained in serious condition and in custody. His condition deteriorated and he was pronounced dead Thursday.
Ornellas, 33, was a minimum-security inmate serving time for a drug conviction, officials said.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said it is continuing to investigate the escape.
Orenellas was hit as he was running north in the southbound lane of Kuhio Highway, Kauai police said. Police are searching for the driver, who left the scene before first responders arrived.
A public defender who represented Ornellas for a probation violation declined previously to comment on the escape.
2025-05-04 00:261761 view
2025-05-03 23:241556 view
2025-05-03 22:272772 view
2025-05-03 22:251831 view
2025-05-03 22:002674 view
2025-05-03 21:582601 view
PACCAR is recalling over 220,000 of its 2021-2025 Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks. The commercial tru
When Jennifer Beals landed the role of a lifetime as a 19-year-old, cast as the protagonist in the 1
You've already filed your tax return for 2023. You have a refund coming. You want to know where it i