Neighbor Island briefs
Advertiser Staff
Lawsuit filed over chopper crash
WAILUKU, Maui — The families of two Texas girls killed a year ago in a tour helicopter crash in '?ao Valley have filed a lawsuit in Maui Circuit Court.
The lawsuit accuses Blue Hawaiian Helicopters of "gross negligence" in the July 21, 2000, crash that killed seven. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report suggested pilot Larry Kirsch, 55, became lost in the clouds and flew directly into a ridge.
The lawsuit was filed by Wailuku attorney James Krueger on behalf of Douglas and Donna Prince, parents of Natalie Prince, 14, and Terry and Liskin Wood, parents of Whitney Wood, also 14. The two girls were best friends, and Wood had joined Prince's family on their Maui vacation.
Also killed in the helicopter crash were the pilot and a New Jersey family, William John "Jack" Jordan, 51, his wife Jan Herscovitz, 49, their son, Max Jordan, 16, and daughter Lindsey Jordan, 15.
Blue Hawaiian officials were not available for comment.
Big Island tourist robbed in restroom
A 15-year-old visitor reported Monday that he had been robbed of $50 in cash and travelers' checks at LuLu's Restaurant in Kailua-Kona, Big Island police said.
The boy, visiting from Connecticut, told police he was robbed about 9:10 p.m. by two men in the restroom. He said one of the robbers warned him he would be killed if he told anyone about the incident.
The robbers were last seen leaving the area in a gray, older-model Toyota sedan with louvers in the back window.
One was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall with a slender build and short dark hair, wearing a white shirt over a white tank top and a plain gold ring on the right middle finger. The other was described as 5 feet 1 with a muscular build, bald with a tattoo on the right side of his neck. He was wearing a purple and blue tank top and beige shorts.
Call 326-4207 or 935-3311. Calls can also be made to CrimeStoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo.
Widespread power outage hits Maui
KAHULUI, Maui — A loss of power generation at Maui Electric Co. yesterday lead to one of the island's most widespread power failures in years, affecting customers from one end of the island to the other.
Stephen Bianco, a MECO dispatch supervisor, said the cause of the 3:04 p.m. outage remains under investigation.
He said the system lost about a quarter of its power when two generators at the Ma'alaea power plant switched off simultaneously, leading to an automatic chain reaction of tripped breakers designed to stabilize the distribution system.
More than 3,000 customers lost electricity from about 20 minutes to nearly an hour, Bianco said. Affected areas included Ha'iku, Hana, Pa'ia in East Maui, Makawao and Pukalani in the Upcountry region, Wailuku, Waiehu and Waikapu in Central Maui, Kapalua and parts of Napili in West Maui, and Kihei.
