Hawaii County officer honored at MADD Hawaii statewide ceremony
Officer Adam Roberg was honored at MADD Hawaii’s Maui ceremony as island DUI arrests fell to 840, even as Hawaii Island recorded 20 traffic deaths.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii honored Hawaii County police Officer Adam Roberg among 15 statewide recipients at its annual recognition ceremony, putting the Big Island in the center of the state’s impaired-driving response. Nearly 100 guests gathered June 25 at the Grand Wailea Waldorf Astoria Resort on Maui for the event, which brought together honorees from Honolulu City & County, Maui County, Hawaii County and Kauai County.
The 2026 list also included Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin and the Maui Coalition for Drug Free Youth. MADD Hawaii gave its Lifetime Achievement Award to Maui Police Department Sgt. Stephen Kelly and introduced a Rookie of the Year award for Honolulu Police Department Officer Kukilakilakuumakuakane Serrao. Program Director Makena Young said, “The individuals we honored each play a critical role in protecting lives and promoting safety on our roadways.”
For Hawaii Island, the ceremony landed against a hard local backdrop. Hawaii Police Department said on Dec. 5, 2025 that the island had recorded 840 DUI arrests year to date, down from 889 in the same period of 2024, while major crashes climbed to 917 from 899. The department also reported 18 fatal crashes and 20 deaths, compared with 25 fatal crashes and 28 deaths a year earlier, and said DUI roadblocks and patrols would continue islandwide.
Those numbers help explain why MADD’s focus has stayed on enforcement, education and community partnership. On Hawaii Island, HPD has also pointed to more specialized training. In a June 2025 recognition release, the department said Sgt. Thomas Koyanagi established its Drug Recognition Expert Instructor Development Course in 2021 and a cannabis detection workshop in 2024. Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz said that taking a dangerous impaired driver off the road makes the community safer.
MADD Hawaii said it has worked since 1980 to end drunk and drugged driving, support victims and prevent underage drinking. The annual ceremony has become a statewide checkpoint for how well those tools are working, and for Hawaii County the message remained grounded in the same mix of visible patrols, better detection and cooperation that HPD said would continue across the island.
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