Regan

WAILUKU – Managing Director Keith Regan, acting mayor while Mayor Alan Arakawa is traveling out-of-state, last week joined the Maui Police Department in urging motorists to slow down, drive safely and sober, and to put away cell phones while driving.

The plea follows a hit-and-run incident that occurred Tuesday night, April 15, at approximately 11:13 p.m., when a 51-year-old female pedestrian was struck and killed by a Toyota truck on Piilani Highway just south of the North Kihei Road intersection. The driver of the truck fled the scene following the collision, police said, but he turned himself in on Friday.

This most recent fatality brings the number of traffic fatalities in Maui County to nine, compared to four at the same time last year.

Six of the nine fatalities occurred in an 11-day span in April. There have also been two near-fatal crashes this year.

“These traffic fatalities are tragic examples of the need for heightened enforcement against distracted driving,” Regan said. “Our administration appreciates and fully supports the Maui Police Department’s efforts to remind the public of the importance of safe driving by enforcing the law.

“It’s heartbreaking to hear of the lives lost and the family members whose lives are forever changed in an instant,” Regan continued. “People shouldn’t think, ‘That will never happen to me.’ We really need to consider the possible consequences before getting into, and while driving, our vehicles.”