Drowning victim's parents sue state, HELCO, relative

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — The parents of a 14-year-old boy who drowned in a treacherous stretch of the Wailuku River in 2001 have sued the state and the Hawai'i Electric Light Co., alleging they failed to do enough to warn swimmers of dangerous conditions in the river.

The suit also alleges the state and HELCO knew about the hazards — there were three other drownings in the area in the previous two years — and should have done more to keep youngsters out.

The suit by Leihuanani Luhiau and Stanford Ogata alleges that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources was responsible for a set of cement steps leading down to the river near where Aaron-James Ogata-Luhiau drowned on June 13, 2001.

Those steps provided access to what otherwise would have been an inaccessible area of the river, and "acted as an invitation to kids," according to the suit.

Ogata-Luhiau was staying with an aunt at a nearby apartment complex in Hilo when he and two other boys used the steps to reach the river, according to the suit.

As the children played in an area with several waterfalls, an employee of a nearby HELCO hydroelectric power plant came out of the plant and warned the youngsters that the flow of water into the river was about to be increased, the suit said.

Some time after that warning, Ogata-Luhiau went over a waterfall, became trapped under the falls, and drowned, according to the suit.

The county posted signs warning of the dangers in the area at the top of the cement steps after Ogata-Luhiau drowned, according to the suit.

Named as defendants in the suit are the DLNR, HELCO and Ogata-Luhiau's aunt, Miniver Kepaa. DLNR and HELCO were contacted about the suit but did not comment on it yesterday. Kepaa was unavailable for comment.