Maui police made at the very least one arrest throughout the Third Annual Hannah Brown Memorial Impaired Driving Consciousness Checkpoint and Rally on Wednesday evening alongside the Kūihelani Freeway in Central Maui. Police say a lady driving towards the checkpoint tried to show round and swap drivers simply because the checkpoint was winding down operations.
Along with the arrest, police additionally screened almost 200 automobiles, and issued 4 citations to people driving and not using a legitimate drivers license and correct youngster restraints. It’s just the start of a vacation effort throughout the state, launched yesterday to curb impaired driving forward of the vacations.
Final evening’s checkpoint was arrange on the similar location the place Maui teen, Hannah Brown, misplaced her life on June 23, 2019. The lethal crash occurred when a drunk driver was touring within the unsuitable route on the freeway and collided head-on into the automotive she was in. Hannah was 19 years outdated.
“Division smart, and neighborhood smart, it actually woke individuals up,” stated Maui Police Visitors Commander Lieutenant William Hankins who stood in entrance of the Wailuku Police station, and behind a desk set with 15 lei and identify tags, representing somebody who shouldn’t be coming to Thanksgiving dinner this 12 months.
To date this 12 months, Maui County has had 15 visitors fatalities in comparison with six on the similar time final 12 months. That’s a 150% enhance. 9 of the fatalities (60%) had been linked to alcohol, medication and pace.
“It’s extraordinarily unacceptable,” stated Lt. Hankins. “In 2020 we made nice strides. Lots of people will inform you that it was due to the pandemic and issues had been locked down, that’s why the fatalities went down. [That’s] not true. Nationwide, fatalities went up. Hawaiʻi was the chief within the nation final 12 months in decreasing fatalities by 20%. Maui County carried the state at 52%. That’s what we had been in a position to do final 12 months by getting the message out about impaired driving and getting individuals to decelerate and drive with aloha.”
The occasion kicked off what’s now a statewide occasion to fight impaired and distracted driving forward of the vacations. The “No Excuses” campaign to drive safely contains participation from the Hawaiʻi Division of Transportation, Hawaiʻi State Division of Well being, 4 county police departments, MADD Hawaiʻi, neighborhood members and different visitors security companions.
“The one factor that hurts us probably the most proper now could be we’ll by no means get to look at our daughter get married; we’ll by no means get to look at our daughter have kids. We miss her each single day of our lives,” stated Charlene Brown, Hannah’s mom. “She might be perpetually 19. Her birthday is on Monday, Nov. 29. She would have been 22 years outdated. I don’t ever discuss of her as previous tense. To me she’s nonetheless alive. She’s nonetheless right here. I want I’d get up from this nightmare, and that she would come working down the driveway together with her massive smile saying ‘Right here I’m… I didn’t imply to be gone so lengthy.’ We simply miss her so, a lot.”
“I’m glad Hannah is ready to proceed serving the neighborhood, although she’s not right here bodily. She needed to do nice issues in life, and she or he’s doing nice issues,” stated Charlene Brown. “We simply ask the neighborhood that we’ve to do that collectively.”
Additionally, available on the occasion was Dané Sadang, who misplaced her 17-year-old son, Kahiau Hill on Could 30, 2021 on the Kahekili Freeway in Waiheʻe; and Andrea Maniago who started volunteering with MADD in 2009 after dropping her 16-year-old son Kaio Fukushima to a drunk driver.
“Impaired driving and dashing shouldn’t be a police alone downside. That is one thing that all the neighborhood wants to deal with,” stated Lt. Hankins who’s pushing for a 0.05 legislation, to decrease the Blood Alcohol Degree for somebody to be thought-about to be intoxicated.
“We see drinkers are available, and they’re going to inform you at 0.05, constantly, they don’t really feel proper to drive. For those who perceive how alcohol works, it decreases your judgment as the very first thing, after which that’s the place the dangerous choices occur. I can assure you Lynsey Jio had no intentions of killing Hannah Brown, however piss poor choice making is precisely what occurred that evening, and for that, this household has to endure for the remainder of their life. It’s not honest,” stated Lt. Hankins. “We are able to make modifications now by pushing for a 0.05 and tighten up our DUI legal guidelines. Modifications can occur, and it begins proper right here.”
“Everybody is aware of of the Nationwide Transportation Security Board’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over marketing campaign. It’s broadly publicized and it occurs yearly in mid-December,” stated Lt. Hankins noting that the tip of the 12 months is just too late. “We’re already at 150% for Maui County. What are we ready for? So we’re kicking this off now… the day earlier than Thanksgiving, as a result of that is historically when the deadliest time of the 12 months begins.”
