The Hannah Brown Memorial Impaired Driving Awareness Movement Marks its 6th Year

The 6th Annual Hannah Brown memorial event was held on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, at the County of Maui building to remember the loss of nineteen-year-old Hannah Brown. The event was organized by the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth (MCDFY), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Maui Police Department’s Traffic Section, and the family and friends of Hannah Brown. In 2019, Hannah Brown’s life was tragically cut short by an impaired driver, and the family of Hannah has since held an annual memorial event in her honor.

DUI Task Force Officer Stephen Kelly stated there has been a 31% increase in DUI arrests over the past year, with this year’s DUI arrests at 526 compared to 401 at this same time last year. “That’s ridiculous. There is no reason for this amount of arrests,” stated Officer Kelly. “We are doing checkpoints and saturation patrols, but this is a team effort; we can’t do this by ourselves. We need the community; we need the public out there to help us get rid of this problem.”

County of Maui Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. echoed that sentiment and stated, “Again, I just wanted to come and remember with the rest of you and thank all of you for keeping this event, this movement, as we continue to not just remember but to do everything in our power to prevent further destruction and heartbreak on our roads.”

Andrea Maniago lost her son, Kaio Fukushima, in 2019 when he was 16 years old. She is now a volunteer with MADD. “Because of this event tonight I’m hoping that we will be bringing more awareness to more people and hopefully prevent people from losing someone that they love,” Maniago stated. “Every year we have a place on our table that is never going to be filled again with our son so I just ask, please, please do not drink and drive. Please make this year a memorable year for you and your family. Just have a plan.”

Maui Councilmember Yuki Lei Sugimura said at the event, “This should not happen again. One of the things that I hope we see at the legislature is the blood alcohol level to be reduced.”

One such policy could do that. “The research evidence shows that lowering the [blood alcohol concentration (BAC)] threshold from 0.08 to 0.05 is the strongest legislation we can enact to prevent alcohol-impaired driving on our roadways. No other legislative action has been as effective worldwide as a 0.05 BAC law. Over the past few years, many of us here and across the state have advocated adopting a 0.05 BAC law in Hawai‘i. Still, we have not yet succeeded in making 0.05 a reality,” said Rick Collins, Director of the Hawa‘ii Alcohol Policy Alliance (HIAPA) and the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth (MCDFY).

Collins also relayed, “As we remember Hannah Brown, let us each resolve to do more as individuals and organizations to protect our community and to demand that our public servants, our lawmakers also protect our communities by enacting a 0.05 BAC law this upcoming legislative session. We invite you to get involved in this movement to help us make this necessary change to protect our children, our families, and our friends from the tragedies of alcohol-impaired driving.” It is one of the best ways to honor Hannah Brown’s memory.

Charlene Brown, mother of Hannah Brown, closed her remarks by reminding everyone, “Don’t drink and drive. Please be safe this holiday season. If you decide to drink or if you know anyone that decides to drink and is going to get in a car, tell them to remember Hannah. That’s why we have this slogan “Remember me.” We want everybody to know who Hannah is regardless if you met her or not. That’s our goal. She is giving that smile out to protect everyone, or at least try to.”