Hawaii tallies 29 traffic-related fatalities so far this year

From the start of the year to Thursday, the state has tallied a total of 29 traffic-related fatalities, according to preliminary statistics from the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

This is relatively low compared to the same period last year, when there were 44 traffic-related fatalities, and the decline may be due to “stay-at-home” orders which have reduced vehicles traveling on roadways for the months of March and April.

Of the 29 traffic-related fatalities, 12 involved motor vehicle occupants, 10 pedestrians and seven motorcycles.

The highest number of fatalities occurred in the City and County of Honolulu on Oahu, with 16, followed by eight in Hawaii County, three on Maui County and two on Kauai County.

The statistics do not include the most recently fatality on Oahu, which occurred last Saturday.

At about 10 p.m. last Saturday, a 30-year-old Waimanalo man driving a Toyota pickup truck on Kalanianaole Highway in Hawaii Kai crossed over double, solid yellow lines and collided head-on with a Mercedes-Benz SUV driven by a Honolulu man and his passenger, both in their 50s.

Police said the Waimanalo man later died from his injuries, and that it was the 17th traffic fatality for Oahu this year, compared to 23 during the same time last year.

The 16th traffic fatality for Oahu occurred on the H-2 freeway about a half mile north of the Wahiawa off-ramp on Tuesday, according to police. A Scion sedan driven by a 47-year-old man traveling southbound collided into a 43-year-old pedestrian in the roadway. The pedestrian died at the scene.

Gov. David Ige has extended the “stay-at-home” order through June 30, although phase one of reopening the economy has begun, and many malls that had been shuttered during the pandemic reopened last Friday.