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Officer hits pedestrian in road, cited for DUI and negligent injury

A Honolulu Police officer spent part of Saturday morning locked up after he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and negligent injury.

Traffic investigators say Honolulu Police Sergeant Andrew Tsukano hit a pedestrian Saturday around 2 a.m.

The pedestrian was taken to the hospital in serious condition.

Officials say the 45 year-old man was crossing South Beretania street when he was hit by Sgt. Andrew Tsukano's vehicle. Tsukano uses the vehicle both for work and personal use.

"I heard four cop cars block off the street here and just stopped all the traffic from flowing Ewa side of the street," said nearby resident Mike Miguel. The accident woke him up in his nearby apartment.

"It was pretty odd that so many cops would come for just, I guess just a crosswalk accident."

Police say the pedestrian was not in a marked crosswalk and darted across five lanes of traffic.

Sources say 57 year-old Sergeant Tsukano was off-duty at the time of the crash.

Police say his blood alcohol content was above the legal limit.

Tsukano was arrested for DUI, negligent injury and refusing to take a breathalyzer test.

"If there is a crash and the crash results in a fatality or an injury then there is nothing to preclude law enforcement for making sure that they have a blood test or a breath test," said Carol McNamee, from MADD Hawaii.

Sources say Sgt. Tsukano was given a blood test at the hospital.

The results of the test will not be known until next week.

Police say the road had been wet at the time of the crash and don't know if speed was a factor in the accident.

This is not the first time a Honolulu police officer was arrested for drunk driving - last June, Officer Boyd Kamikawa was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he hit a woman who was in a marked crosswalk. She survived. Last April, officer William Suarez was arrested after he hit a utility pole near Ala Moana. He's expected to make his next court appearance May 24.

Sergeant Tsukano was released pending investigation for all three counts. Sources say he has been on the police force for more than 30 years.

The pedestrian is expected to recover.