Police nab 19 for suspected DUI

Hawaii Island police arrested 19 motorists for suspected drunken driving Dec. 6 and Sunday. Three of the drivers were involved in traffic crashes and two were younger than age 21.

South Hilo officers arrested eight drivers while Kona officers arrested six, according to data released by the Hawaii Police Department. Meanwhile, South Kohala officers arrested three drivers and Puna officers two.

So far this year, there have been 1,011 DUI arrests compared with 951 during the same period last year, according to police.

There have been 763 major accidents so far this year compared with 734 during the same period last year.

As of Sunday, 25 fatalities had been recorded on the Big Island’s public roadways this year, police said. By that time in 2020, 15 people had died.