Police arrest 20 for DUI

During the week of Sept. 25-Oct. 1, Hawaii Island police arrested 20 motorists for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Four of the drivers were involved in traffic accidents.

The numbers of arrests by district were: Kona, nine; Puna, seven; South Hilo, three; and South Kohala, one.

So far this year, there have been 869 DUI arrests compared to 814 during the same period last year, an increase of 6.8 percent.

There have been 1,011 major accidents so far this year compared with 1,041 during the same period last year, a decrease of 2.9 percent.

To date, there have been 26 official traffic fatalities, compared to 21 official fatalities for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 23.8 percent for official fatalities. There also have been four vehicle-related deaths this year police don’t count toward the official total because two occurred on private property and the other two in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide, police said.