Police ramp up Daniel K. Inouye Highway patrols, issue 269 speeding citations

Police have turned Daniel K. Inouye Highway into one of the Big Island’s most heavily watched roads after a deadly run of crashes, and the first four days of the crackdown show how aggressive the enforcement has become. From June 4 through June 7, Hawaii Police Department officers stopped 316 drivers along the corridor and issued 269 speeding citations, along with citations for reckless driving, passing on the shoulder, using an electronic device while driving and lapsed registration.

Deputy Chief Sherry Bird said the heightened police presence was intentional, aimed at the kinds of violations that can turn a bad drive into a fatal one. One driver was arrested during the operation. Police have also said a significant majority of excessive speed citations and arrests on Hawaii Island have been happening on Daniel K. Inouye Highway, reinforcing that the road is no longer being treated like an ordinary enforcement corridor.

The clampdown follows a state traffic emergency declaration covering mileposts 5.5 to 28, announced June 5 after the third fatal crash and fifth death on the highway this year. State officials said some speeding drivers were traveling more than 100 mph, and police data showed speeds as high as 109 mph. The declaration allows the Hawaii Department of Transportation to move quickly on mitigation steps including rumble strips, striping that is easier to see in wet weather, speed trackers and speed cameras.

Work began June 8 on an estimated $15 million open-graded friction course project between mileposts 10 and 19 to reduce hydroplaning. The project is expected to take about a month, weather permitting, with traffic maintained through contraflow and a reduced 45 mph speed limit in the work zone. The state also plans higher-visibility restriping, curve warnings and speed cameras that would first issue warnings to owners detected going 11 mph or more over the limit.

The enforcement surge comes after a string of crashes that rattled commuters between Hilo, Waimea and West Hawaii. Police said wet roads or rainy conditions played a role in five of the 10 most recent fatal crashes on the highway, including the June 4 crash in which a 2003 Toyota 4-Runner hydroplaned on a curve and was broadsided by a commercial truck. Before that, a fatal crash killed a 47-year-old Kona woman and a three-week-old infant, and a May 5 crash left two men dead, including 34-year-old Zachery Winston of Newport News, Virginia.

Mayor Kimo Alameda pressed state leaders on May 20 for help after Hawaii Island had logged 13 traffic fatalities in 2026, eight of them in the prior two weeks. He asked for radar signs, better crash-warning signs, drainage and pavement repairs at mile markers 13 to 16 and 44 to 47, turnout and keep-right signs, plus rumble strips and reflective delineators. Hawaii Police Department had already warned in October 2025 that excessive speed citations and arrests were heavily concentrated on Daniel K. Inouye Highway, and the current operation shows that warning has become a countywide emergency response.