18 motorists arrested for DUI during week of Feb. 17-23 on Big Island roads

Hawaiʻi Police Department continues to crack down on motorists who choose to drive under the influence of intoxicants on Big Island roadways, arresting 18 people for DUI during the week of Feb. 17-22.

Six of those drivers were involved in traffic crashes. One of them was younger than 21 years old.

Kona came out on top last week with 7 DUI arrests compared to 5 each in Hilo and Puna and 1 in South Kohala. However, Hilo is still on top for the year so far with 63 DUI arrests followed by Kona with 40, Puna with 27, South Kohala with 13 and North Kohala and Kaʻū with 1 each.

That’s a total of 145 DUI arrests as of Feb. 22, just 5 less, or a meager 3.33% decrease, from the 150 DUI arrests made by the same time last year.

The Hawai‘i Police Department Traffic Services Section reviewed all updated crashes and found there have been 136 major crashes so far this year, which is 2 more, or a 1.5% increase, from the 134 major crashes by this point in 2024.

There have been 7 fatal crashes and 8 fatalities on Big Island roadways since the beginning of 2025. That’s 2 more fatal wrecks and 3 more fatalities than the 5 of each by this time in 2024.

That means the island has already seen concerning increases of 40% in fatal crashes and 60% in traffic fatalities in less than 3 months of the year.

Hawaiʻi County had the second highest number of traffic-related fatalities in the state in 2024 with a total of 29, which was a nearly 100% increase from the 15 on Big Island roadways in 2023 and only 21 more than the 8 already recorded in 2025.

Meanwhile, there have been no non-traffic fatalities, or those that do not happen on a public roadway, which is the same as this time last year.

DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide.