Remembering 19-year-old Kaulana Werner 8 years later

HONOLULU (KHON2) — It has been eight years since an intoxicated driver claimed the life of 19-year-old Kaulana Werner.

Kaulana was walking home from a nearby park just before he was struck. He is remembered today as a “well-known and loved football player who played for the Nanakuli Hawks, Kamehameha Kapalama Warriors, and the Sterling Kansas Warriors.”

On Saturday, community members, victims, family, friends and MADD Hawaii came together in a sign-waving event in Nanakuli to bring awareness about driving under the influence.

“We don’t want nobody to go through this, what we’ve been going through for eight years,” explained Kaulana’s father, Ed Werner.

Even prior to the sign-waving event, Kaulana’s memory lives on. “We don’t bring it only in April, we bring it in the holidays too,” Ed added.

According to NHTSA 2021, 37 people die in drunk-driving crashes every day. In 2021 alone, over 13,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths.

Sign-waving events such as Kaulana’s are a constant reminder that “the need for safe driving solutions has never been more critical.”