Police arrest 27 for suspected drunken driving

Hawaii Island police arrested 27 drivers for suspected drunken driving between Aug. 31 and Sunday. Seven of the drivers were involved in traffic crashes and one was younger than age 21.

Puna officers arrested nine drivers, South Hilo officers eight and Kona officers seven, according to data released Tuesday by the Hawaii Police Department. Officers in South Kohala arrested two motorists and North Kohala officers nabbed one.

So far this year, there have been 642 DUI arrests compared with 765 during the same period last year, according to police. There have been 523 major accidents so far this year compared with 656 during the same period last year.

Thirteen fatalities have been recorded on Hawaii Island’s public roadways, police said. By this time in 2019, 14 people had perished.