WAILUKU — Three mothers whose children were killed in traffic crashes on Maui are lending their voices to the effort to prevent speed- and alcohol-related crashes this holiday season.

In 30- and 45-second public service announcements being aired in ads and on social media, Dane Sadang, Andrea Maniago and Charlene Brown talk about the teenagers’ dreams that ended when they died.

“It’s heartbreaking for them,” said Lt. William Hankins, commander of the police Traffic Section. “Every time they tell their story and every time they see this, it’s a constant reminder for them.

“To have these families lose so much and give back twice as much, it’s motivational for me. The message is intended to punch you right in the heart, and it does.”

Maui County Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura, who heads the Infrastructure and Transportation Committee, said $20,000 in district funds was allotted for the project.

She said she has heard residents’ concerns about speeding since the county began reopening after the pandemic.

“This opportunity came up to try to send the message forward that we need safer roads and we need people to pay attention,” Sugimura said.

The county Office of Economic Development grant funding went through the Hawaii Public Health Institute, which has partnered with the Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Vision Zero project to end traffic fatalities in the county, said Lauren Armstrong, executive director of the organization.

She said Sae Design Group in Wailuku designed the video.

“It’s raising awareness about making good decisions — slow down, respect life,” Armstrong said.

The video continues work that began before Thanksgiving to try to stem the tide of traffic collisions and deaths, Hankins said.

The number of traffic deaths has risen by 87 percent so far this year, even as police have increased impaired-driving arrests and speeding contacts.

Fifteen people have died in crashes on county roads this year, compared with eight at the same time last year. Nine, or 60 percent of the deaths, have involved alcohol or drugs and speed, police said.

So far this year, police have made 624 impaired-driving arrests, including 20 of habitual DUI offenders, for a 22 percent increase over the 505 arrests at the same time last year. As of November this year, police issued 5,409 citations or warnings for speeding for a 52 percent increase over the 3,545 such speeding contacts during the same period last year.

“We have been doing continuous enforcement,” Hankins said. “Now we have this message behind it. Every life matters.”

Sadang’s son, 17-year-old Kahiau Hill, was a passenger who was killed in a single-vehicle crash May 30 in Waiehu.

Maniago’s son, 16-year-old Kaio Fukushima, was a passenger who was killed after a single vehicle crash in Kula on July 5, 2009.

Brown’s daughter, 19-year-old Hannah Brown, was a passenger in a car that was hit by a sport utility vehicle driven by a woman who admitted she had been under the influence of alcohol and marijuana while speeding and going the wrong way on Kuihelani Highway in Kahului on June 23, 2019.

Hankins said he hopes the messages from the victims’ families will prevent people from taking risks on the road.

“That is what’s going to make the difference,” he said. “It’s not going to come from police. It’s not going to come from the county. It’s from these families.”

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