Ocean View man charged after driving toward Kailua-Kona construction workers

A 69-year-old Ocean View man was charged after police said he drove his vehicle toward construction workers in Kailua-Kona, forcing one worker to jump onto the hood to avoid being struck. The case has put a hard edge on a familiar Big Island risk: crews and drivers sharing narrow, active work zones on Hawaii Island roads.

Hawaii Island police identified the man as Paul Tresnak of Ocean View and said he was charged June 8 with second-degree reckless endangering and other offenses. Officers responded to the incident in Kailua-Kona at about 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, after the alleged confrontation in the construction area.

The charging information places the episode squarely in the middle of an active work zone, where one misjudgment by a driver can turn a routine road job into an emergency for workers on foot. In this case, police said one of the construction workers had to leap onto the hood to keep from being hit. That detail underscores how exposed crews can be when traffic moves too close to the work area.

The Hawaii Police Department said arrest and charging information in booking logs is based on the 48-hour post-arrest window and can change as the investigation continues. Tresnak remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The incident lands as the Hawaii Department of Transportation continues to publish weekly roadwork and lane-closure notices for Hawaii Island, including the Kona area, where planned construction and maintenance regularly affect state roads. Those notices cover routes including 11, 19, 190, 197 and 200, a reminder that lane shifts, cones and narrowed shoulders are part of daily driving for many residents and workers. When construction crews are on the roadside, the margin for error is small, and police say this case is now part of an active investigation into what happened in Kailua-Kona.