Hawaii Island police arrest 22 for suspected drunken driving

Hawaii Island police arrested 22 motorists for suspected drunken driving Dec. 7 and Sunday. Three of the drivers were involved in traffic crashes.

Kona officers arrested 10 drivers while South Hilo and South Kohala officers arrested four drivers in each district, according to data released Monday by the Hawaii Police Department. Officers in Puna arrested two motorists while officers in Hamakua and North Kohala arrested one driver in each district.

So far this year, there have been 953 DUI arrests compared with 1,034 during the same period last year, according to police.

There have been 738 major accidents so far this year compared with 935 during the same period last year.

Fifteen fatalities have been recorded on Hawaii Island’s public roadways, police said. By this time in 2019, 24 people had perished.