#daniel k. inouye highway

Jeremy A. Fleming made his initial appearance Tuesday morning in Kona District Court, during which his bailed was reduced to $300,000 and he was ordered to appear Sept. 9 for a preliminary hearing in the case.

The highway was closed earlier Saturday evening, between Old Saddle Road and Highway 190, because of a traffic crash.

The roadway, between the Old Saddle Road and Highway 190 junctions, was closed while fire crews worked to extinguish a wildland fire that ignited Aug. 11 near the 46-mile marker.

Fire crews from Hawaiʻi County, state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Pōhakuloa Training Area and air support from the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard continue to fight the blaze; firefighting operations expected to continue throughout night.

Between July 31 and Aug. 2, officers assigned to these enforcement efforts issued 283 citations.

The projected completion date for paving and striping is October, and all work is weather-permitting.

Although this high-visibility enforcement campaign ended on June 21, officers will continue conducting proactive traffic enforcement operations along the cross-island roadway to address hazardous driving behaviors.

Mackenzie Valentin of Hilo was driving west in a 4-Runner multi-purpose vehicle when she lost control the morning of June 4, hydroplaned into the opposite lane and was broadsided by a Ford F-450 commercial truck.

Between June 8 and June 14, Hawai‘i Island police officers conducted high-visibility traffic enforcement along the highway, also known as Saddle Road, making 450 vehicle stops.

Reckless driving reports also increased as Hawaiʻi Police Department conducts high visibility traffic enforcement operations along the highway corridor, often called Saddle Road, as part of ongoing efforts to improve safety and reduce dangerous driving behaviors.

The Department of Transportation can now accelerate additional safety measures to try to decrease collisions on the main roadway across the Big Island.

Law enforcement is pumping up its presence and escalating enforcement efforts along the highway to hopefully get the point across that threatening public safety will not be tolerated, especially in response to a deadly increase in fatal traffic crashes and resulting deaths.

The sign-waving was launched in October 2025 by the Hawai‘i Police Department to increase awareness about the impact of traffic fatalities on the loved ones and friends of those killed.

The extension project that began in 1999 to add 10.5 miles to the well-traveled Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road, had been shelved twice due to a lack of funding.

As of Tuesday, May 19, there have been 13 traffic fatalities in 2026 on Hawai‘i Island, including eight in the past two weeks.

Police urge motorists to drive responsibly after a two-car collision on Saddle Road near the 13-mile marker left two dead and four injured Friday afternoon.

Motorists are urged to avoid Highway 130 in Keaʻau between the intersections of Orchidland Drive and Paradise Drive due to a traffic accident for the next 3 hours.

Money raised will go toward helping the victim’s parents travel to the Big Island to bring their son and his belongings back to Virginia.

This is the sixth and seventh traffic fatalities on Hawai‘i Island of 2026, as compared to 12 traffic fatalities for the same time last year.

The project is among the proposed $10 billion in federal investments the state is seeking as part of land lease negotiations with the military.