Eight-and-a-half months into 2022 the Island of Hawaii is on the cusp of equaling, or perhaps even eclipsing the number of traffic fatalities for all of 2021.
As of Monday, there were 25 official traffic fatalities for the year, one fewer than for last year’s 26. And if fatalities on the Big Island’s roads continue at their current rate, there would be 40 for the year, two more than the 38 traffic deaths recorded in 2012, the deadliest year in recent memory.
“The Traffic Enforcement Unit sergeants indicated that during the pandemic the numbers of vehicles on the road increased, but dangerous driving habits like speeding increased,” Police Chief Paul Ferreira said in an Aug. 5 letter to the Tribune-Herald. “The increase in fatal crashes may be the result of driers continuing to speed and continue other risky driving behaviors.
“These types of behaviors, combined with more traffic, create a greater risk of being involved in a crash.”
An emergency lockdown in 2020, early in the novel coronavirus pandemic, resulted in far fewer drivers on the island’s roads for several months. There were only 15 traffic fatalities on the books that year, a 40% decrease from the 25 fatalities registered in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.
According to Ferreira, of the 24 fatalities registered as of July 28, “one involved alcohol only, one involved drugs only, and five involved a combination of both drugs and alcohol.”
“It should be noted that several cases remain under investigation and test results have not been returned as of this communication,” Ferreira said. “Additionally, five of them involved speed only, seven involved inattention (to driving), and three involved a combination of speed and inattention.”
Ferreira said the fatal crashes involved five motorcyclists and four pedestrians.
Police have removed one fatality in May from the list “because of a medical condition,” Ferreira confirmed. There were originally five fatalities listed that month, but Ferreira declined to provide which of those were reclassified from a traffic fatality to a death from a medical condition “due to privacy issues.”
January was the deadliest month of the year, with six fatalities, while May, June and July all registered four traffic deaths. There were three deaths in March, two in February, one in April — and one, so far, in August.
The year began tragically as a 9-year-old girl was killed and seven others injured on New Year’s Day when a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck apparently lost its brakes on a wet roadway and the driver skidded off Maunakea Access Road and plunged into a ravine.
The victim was identified as Kelsirose Adelka.
January also ended tragically. A three-vehicle collision in Glenwood Jan. 30 killed three people and closed Highway 11 for six hours for investigation and the cleaning of hazardous vehicle fluids from the roadway.
Police determined that a Volcano-bound 2016 Toyota 4Runner crossed the double-solid yellow line and struck a Hilo-bound 2020 Jeep sport-utility vehicle head-on. After the initial collision, a Volcano-bound 2000 Volvo sedan struck the Toyota 4Runner and sustained minor damage.
Those killed were identified as 34-year-old Maile Robello of Volcano, the driver of the 4Runner, and the occupants of the Jeep, Jason Howell and Rebecca Van Uitert, both 44, of Heber City, Utah.
The Jan. 30 crash is, so far, the only Big Island collision in 2022 that claimed multiple lives.
The Hawaii Police Department urges drivers to “be the example to others on the roadway,” according to Ferreira.
“There are a few things that can easily decrease the number of major crashes and fatalities in Hawaii County,” he said. “Wear your seat belt, don’t speed, don’t text and drive and don’t drive impaired.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.