A 56-year-old Kahaluu man is now facing charges in a fatal hit-and-run more than a year after a 65-year-old pedestrian was killed while walking along Kahekili Highway in Kaneohe on June 25, 2025. Court documents identify the suspect as Brandon Valant, and charging papers allege he left the scene after striking the pedestrian. Valant was released on $75,000 bail and is due back in court on July 29.
According to Hawaii News Now, sheriffs arrested Valant exactly one year after the collision, and court documents charge him with driving under the influence, driving after his license was revoked and “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” failing to stop to help or report the crash. Brown's sister, Anela Brown-Lee, told reporters, “Justice will be served,” adding that the family believes it has the evidence needed to move the case forward. The outlet also reports that Brown’s family, Honolulu police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving are organizing a sign-waving rally on Kahekili Highway this weekend.
Community push and traffic trends
The arrest has renewed calls for safer roads on Windward Oʻahu, where residents have long warned that stretches of Kahekili Highway lack sidewalks and adequate lighting. Reporting by Civil Beat describes how Hawaii's traffic deaths rose sharply in 2025, while state figures from the Hawaii Department of Transportation show Oʻahu accounted for a large share of the increase. Mothers Against Drunk Driving also maintains an active local program supporting victims' families and prevention work in the islands, according to MADD Hawaii.
Last year's rallies and memorials
Last summer, Brown's family organized sign-waving events and a candlelight vigil near the Hygienic Store and a 7-Eleven at the crash site to press for an arrest and highlight pedestrian safety, according to Hawaii News Now. Family members said witnesses pointed police toward a possible suspect while investigators continued to gather evidence. The new charges and arrest mark the first public break in the case.
Legal implications
Hawaii's impaired-driving statute, commonly cited as HRS §291E-61, governs operating a vehicle under the influence and carries escalating penalties for repeat offenders, as courts have interpreted in recent rulings summarized by Justia. Drivers who flee collisions that cause injury or death may also be prosecuted under the state's collision-reporting rules; the legislature updated several sections of chapter 291C to emphasize the duty to stop, provide information and render aid in measures such as Senate Bill 151, according to LegiScan. If prosecutors pursue felony counts tied to causing death and leaving the scene, a conviction could bring significant prison time, fines and license sanctions under state law; the precise exposure will be spelled out in charging documents and at upcoming hearings.
Valant is scheduled to return to court on July 29. Brown's family will gather for the sign-waving rally on Kahekili Highway north of Ahaolelo Road from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, and organizers say the public is invited.
