Big Island police arrest 33 for suspected drunken driving

Hawaii Island police arrested 33 motorists for suspected drunken driving between Nov. 16 and Sunday. Nine of the drivers were involved in a traffic crash and one was younger than age 21.

Kona officers arrested 14 drivers while South Hilo officers arrested 10 and Puna officers seven, according to data released Monday by the Hawaii Police Department. Officers in South Kohala and Ka‘u arrested one motorist in each district.

So far this year, there have been 891 DUI arrests compared with 978 during the same period last year, according to police. There have been 691 major accidents so far this year compared with 879 during the same period last year.

Fourteen fatalities have been recorded on Hawaii Island’s public roadways, police said. By this time in 2019, 21 people had perished.