Traffic fatalities were up in 2015 over the previous year, while arrests for impaired driving were down, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
There were 15 official fatal collisions on Hawaii Island, three of which involved multiple deaths, resulting in 19 fatalities in 2015. That compares to 11 official fatal crashes, all with single fatalities, in 2014. This represents an increase of 36.4 percent for fatal crashes and 72.7 percent for fatalities.
“The increase in fatalities is, straight up, due to having multiple fatalities in a single crash, and that’s the increase,” said Sgt. Robert Pauole of Traffic Services Section. “If we had just one death per (fatal) crash, as we did last year, the number would be around the same as last year, which was low.”
According to police, 12 of the 15 fatal collisions involved impaired driving — one involving alcohol, eight involving drugs and three involving a combination of alcohol and drugs. It was also determined that speed was a factor in five of the 12 collisions involving impaired driving.
Police made 1,064 arrests for driving under the influence of an intoxicant in 2015, a charge that covers both alcohol and drugs, compared to 1,158 DUI arrests in 2014, a decrease of 8.1 percent.
There were 318 drivers arrested for DUI who were involved in traffic accidents in 2015, compared to 304 in 2014, an increase of 4.6 percent.
Seventy-nine drivers under 21 were arrested for DUI in 2015, compared to 68 in 2014, an increase of 16.2 percent.
One collision involving both alcohol and drugs was a fiery early morning head-on crash on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, that killed three teenagers on Queen Kaahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona.
The dead were identified as 18-year-old Keliiokahonua Sadumiano of Ocean View and his two 17-year-old passengers, Kaela Avenilla and Phoenix Hauanio, both of Kailua-Kona.
Another multiple fatality occurred on Queen Kaahumanu Highway on May 9, when a southbound Nissan Altima crossed the centerline near the 94-mile marker and side-swiped a northbound Ford Fusion, then struck a motorcycle, killing two 47-year-old men, Rick Dupont of Kailua-Kona and his passenger, Sean Henshaw of Ocean View.
Police say drugs were involved.
The Altima’s driver, 23-year-old Rebecca Vetter of Honolulu, was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide and released from custody pending further investigation. She has not been charged.
The third collision with multiple fatalities occurred Dec. 29 near the 2-mile marker on the Keaau-Pahoa Road (Highway 130).
Police say 26-year-old Sean Magee of Keaau crossed the centerline in an eastbound Nissan Altima and stuck a westbound Toyota RAV 4 sport-utility vehicle, which then collided with a Ford pickup truck, which was also traveling west.
The collision killed Magee and 86-year-old Eleanor Benedict of Keaau, a passenger in the SUV driven by her 54-year-old daughter-in-law, Robin Benedict, who was seriously injured.
Police say it’s unknown at this point if alcohol, drugs or speed were involved, but according to court records, Magee had a long string of traffic citations since 2009, including four speeding tickets.
In November, the state Supreme Court voided a breath test in a 2011 DUI conviction. The driver, Yong Shik Won, submitted to the breathalyzer after signing a consent form acknowledging he faced fines up to $1,000 and 30 days in jail if he refused.
Justice Michael Wilson called the law making refusing the test illegal unconstitutional. Two other justices, Sabrina McKenna and Richard Pollack, also found Won didn’t consent to the test.
Won’s attorney, Jonathan Burge, argued the law violates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution that protects against unreasonable searches and seizure.
“If you don’t consent to this search, you’re going to go to jail for 30 days,” Burge said. “And that’s what they told people as they did all this.”
Burge estimated 3,000 other pending DUI cases could be impacted by the ruling, though evidence from field sobriety tests still could lead to convictions.
Pauole said despite the ruling, it’s business-as-usual with DUI enforcement.
“We haven’t changed anything in trying to aggressively enforce drunk driving laws. We’re still doing DUI checkpoints and patrols,” Pauole said, and added arrests are no longer made for refusal to submit to a breath, blood or urine test.
“For now, we haven’t been arresting on that section (of Hawaii Revised Statutes) anymore,” Pauole said. “The procedure is still for them to submit to the breath test or the blood test. They still have that option. But the implied consent form has changed, so we’re not holding this additional arrest over their heads, so to speak.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.