Kaua'i wave kills couple, spares son

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

The boy was knocked down by the same wave, but the water pushed him down on the rocks while carrying his parents into the sea. Fellow beachgoers pulled him to safety. He was being cared for by state Child Welfare Services personnel while officials tried to contact family members in the Midwest. Kaua'i Hospice assisted with the child.

Firefighters received an emergency call at 11:06 a.m. that a couple was in distress in the ocean off the point. A call a few minutes later reported that their bodies were motionless in the 4- to 5-foot surf, said Kaua'i Fire Department Battalion Chief Edson Martin.

The family had been walking on the rock shelf fronting a small sandy beach at the eastern end of Lumaha'i, an area sometimes called Big Waikoko or Nurse's Beach, for its role in the movie "South Pacific."

"From what bystanders described, it seemed like one big wave came up on the rocks and knocked them down," said Cyndi Ozaki, county public information officer.

Lifeguards on personal watercraft rushed to the scene within minutes from neighboring Hanalei Bay and found the couple being carried away by the current.

The couple were brought to shore, and beachgoers assisted in attempting cardiopulmonary resuscitation, without success. Fire Department crews arrived and attempted to revive the couple with a defibrillator.

The names of the couple were withheld until their family members could be notified. Autopsies are planned.

"My heart goes out to this young boy and his family," said Mayor Bryan Baptiste in a statement. "I would like to ask all of Kaua'i to keep this boy, who tragically lost his parents, and his family in their thoughts and prayers."

The shoreline at Nurse's Beach has long been a popular one for visitors, who access the sand and rocks along a steep pathway through a thicket of hala trees. Ozaki said that signs at the top of the trail warn of dangerous shorebreak and strong currents.

The area backing the beach was acquired from private owners by the state in 2001, but is not a developed beach park. At the time of the purchase, Gilbert Coloma-Agaran, who was chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, said the state's motive in acquiring it was simply to protect the open space and coastline, but not to create a formal beach park.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.