Hawai‘i County to host traffic safety vigil days after deadly Daniel K. Inouye Highway crash

Hawai‘i County and partners will be hosting a “Healing Our Highways” Traffic Safety Vigil and Remembrance Event this week just days after a two-vehicle crash on Daniel K. Inouye Highway left five injured and two people dead.

The event is meant to honor those who have lost their lives in traffic crashes and to promote safe, responsible driving as the holiday season approaches. Three simultaneous sign wavings are scheduled on Wednesday from 7 to 11 a.m., along Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway at Waikōloa Road by Blue Hawaiian Helicopter, Kīholo Bay Scenic Point Lookout and Hualālai Four Seasons employee parking area at mile marker 86.

As of Monday evening, there have been 20 traffic fatalities this year compared to 25 fatalities during the same time last year in Hawai‘i County. The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation is also reporting a sobering statistic: the traffic fatalities this year have exceeded the record deaths in 2024, from 102 to 106 statewide.

The 106 were a combination of motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians, motorcyclists, scooter riders, bicyclists and people on non-traditional conveyances like skateboards, foot scooters and Utility Task Vehicles.

“We are committed to reaching our goal of zero traffic deaths – with infrastructure it will take decades of rebuilding systems to separate users and manage speeds to make it harder to drive, bike, or walk dangerously,” said Hawai‘i Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen. “However, as community members, we can solve this today. If everyone follows the law and makes safety a priority, 93% of the people who typically die in crashes caused by drunk and drugged driving, speeding and distraction all make it home.”

As part of the Big Island’s vigil event, Interim Police Chief Reed Mahuna and representatives from the Hawai‘i chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving will be speaking at a ceremony from 10 to 11 a.m. at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center in Kailua-Kona.

“The pain of losing a loved one in a traffic crash never truly fades,” Mahuna said. “Every number in our traffic fatality reports represents a person, a father, mother, son, or daughter whose absence leaves an immeasurable void. This event is a call to our entire community to drive with aloha, responsibility, and awareness so that more families do not have to endure such devastating loss.”

The “Healing Our Highways” event aims to unite the community in remembrance while raising awareness about the lasting consequences of dangerous driving behaviors such as speeding, impairment and distracted driving.

Torey D. Keltner, program manager for the department’s Traffic Services Section, said the vigil has been planned for weeks, urging motorists to drive safely and sober with the approaching holidays.

“Hawai‘i Police Department reminds all motorists that traffic safety is a shared kuleana,” a news release from police stated. “By making safe choices behind the wheel, we can help prevent future tragedies and honor the memory of those lost on our island’s roadways.”

The holidays here, the state is asking everybody on the road to do the following:

• Reduce distractions – don’t drive, ride, or walk while using your phone or devices.
• Obey traffic laws such as speed limits, traffic signals, signs and lane markings.
• Ride and drive sober – do not operate any vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Use your safety gear – remember, everyone in a car is required to wear a seatbelt, even if they are in the back seat. Children under the age of eight must be in a car seat or booster. Riders are reminded that helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by 69% and the risk of death by 42%.

The state department has also started a number of engineering countermeasures for traffic safety statewide, including the installation of a raised crosswalk in North Kona on Route 190 at Kaiminani Street, as well as the installation of an in-lane rumble strip on Route 11 at the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park entrance.