HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION
JACKIE MURAI, TRAFFIC SAFETY COORDINATOR
PHONE: 961-8879
JULY 2, 2007

Waikoloa resident Melissa Macion (left) gives out bottles of water, donated by the Department of Liquor Control, to a sober driver after being screened by police officers. Sheila Fernandez Kinzer (right) displays a sign of her mom, Nani Fernandez, who was killed by a drunk driver. Family members participated at a public awareness DUI roadblock with police officers in Waimea.

MEDIA RELEASE

It’s been six years since Gigi Macion lost both her brother and sister in drunk driving crashes, but continues to tell her story so that people understand the seriousness of this preventable crime. “If I can spare people from the feelings of hurt, anger and hopelessness that our family still experiences, then I will continue my mission, to stop people from drinking and driving.”

On Sunday, July 1^st,family members and friends of DUI victims Miriam “Nani” Fernandez and Honolulu Police Officer Danny Padayao, both killed in separate collisions by drunk drivers in 2001, reminded motorists to drive safe and sober as they passed through Waimea town on Highway 19. 

Despite windy and rainy weather conditions, more than a dozen participants sign-waved messages such as: ”Save Our Families, Don’t Drink and Drive” and “Think Before you Drink”. Bottles of Crystal Geyser water, compliments of the Department of Liquor Control, were given to each sober diver stopped at the checkpoint.  

Over 350 vehicles were screened and although no DUI arrests were made, several regulatory and traffic citations were issued during the one and a half-hour period.

This is the third high-visibility, public awareness roadblock event this year sponsored by Hawaii County’s Impaired Driving Task Force. The task force is composed of county, state, and community agencies dedicated to reducing the number of injuries and fatalities as a result of impaired driving.

To date, there have been a total of 664 DUI arrests on the Big Island; 24 percent or 161 of those arrested were involved in major traffic collisions.

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