It’s been a deadly summer on Hawaii roadways so far.
Since Memorial Day on May 25, there have been at least a dozen fatalities, accounting for roughly 25% of the total, which stood at 48 as of Friday. At the same time last year, the number was at 69.
The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day is known nationally as the “100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers. Due to inexperience, speed, distractions and drunken driving, experts says summer is when teens are 20% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than the rest of the year, and Hawaii is no exception.
“While it’s encouraging to see fatalities lower than this time last year, every life lost on Hawaii’s roads is one too many,” said Makena Young, MADD Hawaii program director, in a statement. “The recent deaths of these young people are heartbreaking reminders that summer is an especially dangerous time to be on our roads.”
She added, “At MADD Hawaii, our mission is to end impaired driving, but we also know that safe driving requires responsible choices behind the wheel every time. Whether it’s speeding, distraction, impairment, or simply taking unnecessary risks, those decisions can have lifelong consequences for families and entire communities.”
Hawaii residents are still reeling from the death of a 16-year-old, identified as Kalena Abelmann of Hawaii Kai, who died after her car flew off of the Pali Highway last month.
Honolulu police said at about 6 a.m. on June 18, the teen was driving Kailua-bound on the Pali at a high rate of speed when she lost control after the tunnels, went airborne, and dropped about 50 feet into a ravine.
Firefighters found her in the brush below, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
In June, another teen died in a fiery crash on Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road. Hawaii island police identified the teen as Mackenzie Valentin, 17, of Hilo.
On June 4, police said Valentin was driving a Toyota 4Runner westbound on the highway when she lost control at a curve near mile marker 18. The car hydroplaned into the oncoming lane and collided with a Ford F-450 truck, then caught fire, with her trapped inside.
Valentin was taken to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where she later died.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation afterwards declared a traffic emergency zone between mile posts 5.5 and 28 on the highway. Police said they would step up enforcement along the stretch, as it was the fifth fatality there.
Fatalities of every age
Hawaii’s traffic fatalities included a broad age range – from a 1-year-old boy hit by a car in a cul-de-sac in Hawaii Kai to a 93-year-old man who crashed after driving the wrong way up an H-1 freeway off-ramp.
At the start of the year, two tragedies involved elderly citizens struck by cars in marked crosswalks.
Stella T. Nakamura, 93, of Honolulu, died on Feb. 11 after being struck outside of Kuakini Medical Center in Liliha.
Just before 7 a.m., a motorist turning left from a driveway onto North Kuakini Street struck Nakamura, a retired registered nurse at Kuakini. She was in a marked crosswalk with a walk signal.
About two weeks later, King Leung Lau, 82, of Honolulu, was hit by a large SUV while in a marked crosswalk on Alexander Street in Punahou. Firefighters extricated her from beneath the vehicle, where she was pinned. She later died at a hospital.
The Kuakini neighborhood has had other pedestrian fatalities, including in 2012, when 88-year-old Martha Miura of Nuuanu was hit by a sedan while crossing Kuakini.
Donda Spiker, spokesperson for Kuakini Medical Center, said driver and pedestrian safety is a 24/7 concern, and that the center sends internal messages to staff about driving and walking carefully to and from campus.
“Kuakini Street has become a busy street due to the numerous health and medical facilities and schools in the neighborhood,” said Spiker in an email. “Although Kuakini Health System is on private property, many drivers drive through our property as a shortcut to get to and from School Street or Kuakini Street and the freeway onramp/off ramp.”
In 2023, the center requested an additional sign from the city at the corner of Kuakini and its Waikiki Service Road to remind drivers to stop before turning right onto the campus.
But the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services at the time informed her additional signs were not possible due to height and number limitations.
Taking action
After a record-setting high of 128 traffic fatalities last year, the state and police have doubled down on efforts to bring down those numbers.
The state Legislature this year passed bills updating the traffic codes on e-bikes, approving the use of technology to stop speeding, and installing pedestrian safety improvements near schools.
The “stop super speeders” bill, or Senate Bill 2023, allows courts to require anti-speeding technology for drivers convicted of excessive speeding and drag racing.
DOT, which supported the bill, said approximately one-third of all traffic fatalities in the state in recent years have involved speeding-related factors.
Senate Bill 3234 — introduced in honor of road victim 19-year-old Tehya Mahelona — appropriates $2 million toward pedestrian safety improvements near school properties. Mahelona died in October while walking to her early morning job in Nanakuli due to a chain-reaction crash caused by speeding.
The improvements would include all-way crosswalks, similar to the one in Waikiki, raised intersections, or both.
Key bills that would have helped protect vulnerable pedestrians and bicyclists, however, did not pass.
The goal of Senate Bill 2470, or the “pedestrian head start bill,” was to help prevent these types of tragedies, according to Malia Boksanski, transportation equity policy analyst at Hawaii Appleseed.
It would have authorized DOT to install two low-cost tools — leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals — at certain intersections.
These tools are recommended by the Federal Highway Administration and have proven effective in other states, according to Boksanski.
The leading pedestrian intervals give pedestrians a head start of 3 to 7 seconds before drivers get a green light. It makes pedestrians more visible to turning vehicles and helps those who are slower to start.
The FHWA recommends the use of LPIs for intersections with high-turning vehicle volumes and for an aging population.
The accessible pedestrian signals communicate “walk” and “don’t walk” signals through audible and vibrotactile cues, making them accessible to blind and low-vision pedestrians.
The Hawaii Association of the Blind supported the bill, saying its members have encountered very dangerous intersections despite traffic signals.
Hawaii Appleseed will advocate for the bill again next year.
Another Senate bill that did not pass would set up a task force to examine Finland’s tiered traffic fines system, which charges higher fines from those with higher incomes
The Honolulu Police Department, which in April launched a “Safer Roads Together” initiative, is now carrying out a ”Summer Safety Surge” with public service announcements and stepped-up enforcement of speeding and other violations in targeted areas across Oahu.
HPD in June reminded drivers that many recent crashes shared common, preventable factors, such as speeding, failure to yield – and impaired, distracted, and reckless driving.
“While traffic fatalities are down compared with this time last year, progress does not mean complacency,” said acting Deputy Chief Brandon Nakasato in the release. “Every decision behind the wheel matters, and by slowing down, eliminating distractions, and making responsible choices, we can help protect ourselves, our loved ones, and the most vulnerable members of our community.”
The number of pedestrian fatalities has dropped to 11 so far this year compared to 24 at the same time last year.
There have so far been no bicycle fatalities in the state this year, compared to five at the same time last year. There have, however, been collisions involving bicyclists that resulted in critical injuries.
The number of fatalities involving vehicle collisions was the exception, having increased to 27 this year compared to 20 at the same time last year.
The latest fatality occurred on the Fourth of July, when a woman, identified by the Medical Examiner as Savalivali Vivao, 28, of Honolulu, crashed into a concrete barrier on the H-1 freeway.
Police said Vivao was heading westbound when she crossed several lanes of traffic and for unknown reasons crashed into the barrier. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
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