During the week of September 23, through September 29, 2024, Hawai‘i Island police arrested 21 motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Six of the drivers were involved in a traffic accident, while two of the drivers were under the age of 21.

So far in 2024, there have been 741 DUI arrests compared with 717 during the same period last year, an increase of 3.4 percent.

The Hawaiʻi County Police Department’s Traffic Services Section reviewed all updated crashes and found 734 major crashes thus far in 2024 compared with 623 during the same time last year, an increase of 17.8 percent.

To date, there were 21 fatal crashes, resulting in 23 fatalities, compared with 12 fatal crashes, resulting in 13 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 75 percent for fatal crashes and 76.9 percent for fatalities.