WAILUKU — Drivers will see more DUI checkpoints and enforcement ahead, with the addition of two officers to the police DUI Task Force.

Officers Steven Landsiedel and Rahul Mehra were promoted to the specialized unit last week, filling vacant positions to increase the unit to five officers.

“This is the first time in a long time we’ve been at this level,” said Sgt. Nick Krau, who leads the traffic unit dedicated to impaired-driving enforcement. “We selected a great team. They work together well and they’re very hard workers.

“We should see really good things out of the crew now. They’re going to be out there every night working through the holiday season and beyond, keeping our roads safe.”

On Wednesday evening, the DUI Task Force officers joined other traffic officers at a sign-waving against drunk driving to support the family of 19-year-old Wailuku resident Hannah Brown, who was killed in a June 23, 2019, collision.

The teenager was a passenger in a car driven by her boyfriend when the Kahului-bound car was hit head on by a 2016 Subaru Forester going the wrong way on Kuihelani Highway, police said. In a pending case, the Subaru driver is charged with manslaughter, driving under the influence of an intoxicant, speeding and reckless driving.

Landsiedel, who was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene of the crash, said Hannah Brown is the reason he sought to join the DUI Task Force.

“That one stuck,” said Landsiedel, who has been a police officer for four years. “It drove me to push to get drunk drivers off the road.”

Landsiedel also had a friend in high school who was killed by a drunken driver.

He said he tried to do what enforcement he could while also fulfilling his duties as a Wailuku patrol officer.

Now, both Landsiedel and Mehra said they hope to make a bigger impact in their new jobs.

“You get one drunk driver off the road, you instantly save a life,” Mehra said.

He has been a police officer for about nine and a half years, working most recently in the Wailuku Patrol Division after about seven years in the Lahaina Patrol Division.

“You have the freedom to go anywhere on the island,” Mehra said. “You can do DUI enforcement anywhere from Hana to Kapalua.

“It’s one thing the community can agree on — everyone hates a drunk driver.”

The officers join Stephen Kelly, who has been on the task force for about two and a half years, and Caleb Guarriello, who joined the task force about a year ago and has been a police officer for five and a half years.

“I just want to help the community and prevent these crashes. I’ve been to enough of them,” Guarriello said. “I figured I would try and be more offensive instead of reactive.”

The officers said they are motivated by their supervisor Krau, who made nearly 300 DUI arrests in a 10-month span when he was a DUI Task Force officer.

“The DUI Task Force Unit is unique because we are primarily stationed out of the Wailuku Police Station but we are responsible for conducting impaired driving enforcement throughout the island,” Krau said. “Our team will often work independently, allowing us to cover more roadways throughout the island. Having these additional officers assigned to our unit will allow us to cover more areas and conduct more impaired-driving checkpoints.”

Police traffic Lt. William Hankins said the community will benefit from the additional task force officers.

“Now that we have a fully staffed DUI Task Force, game on,” he said.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.