Maui Police Make 19 DUI Arrests Over the Weekend

Maui Police crime graphic by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

Maui police made 19 arrests over the weekend for impaired driving as part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign which runs from Aug. 15 to Sept. 1.

Seven out of the 19 motorists arrested were at intoxication checkpoints, said Traffic Section Commander Lieutenant Ricky Uedoi.

Department officials say the arrests included 12 in Central Maui, two in Lahaina, three in Kīhei, and two on Molokaʻi.

“People need to be reminded that impaired driving is deadly and can have grave consequences,” said Lieutenant Uedoi.

“So far this year, there have been 15 traffic fatalities in Maui County. Of the 15 fatalities, seven have been attributed to impaired driving. Two out of four near fatal crashes were alcohol related and police are still awaiting toxicology results for three other fatal crashes in which they believe alcohol is a factor,” said Uedoi.

As part of the campaign, police will continue to set up roadblocks at unannounced locations throughout the county. In an earlier announcement, police said this would include saturation patrols that use unmarked patrol vehicles.

Police arrested a total of 1,025 people for impaired driving in 2013, 60 of them during a similar two-week campaign conducted around the same time last year.

So far this year, police say 543 people have been arrested for impaired driving. According to police reports, three people under the age of 21 have also been arrested for driving while having a measurable amount of alcohol in their system.

Lieutenant Uedoi said the nationwide campaigns help to bring awareness to these issues, however,” he said, “police have been out looking for impaired drivers everyday they go out on the road.”