Former Kaua'i man a victim

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By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

A former Kaua'i resident who moved to Thailand four years ago was among the victims of the south Asia tsunami, a friend said last night.

David Sammann, believed to be in his mid- to late-50s, was killed while trying to escape the rapidly rising water that overwhelmed the coastal village where he lived in Phuket, Thailand, on Sunday, friend Carol Peahu said from Kaua'i.

"It's sad for me because I knew him for a long time and he was a great guy," Peahu said. Sammann is the first person with Hawai'i ties to be identified as a victim of the disaster.

Sammann moved to Kaua'i in the late 1970s, Peahu said. He owned and operated North Shore Cab, a taxi company.

Peahu said Sammann and his wife were in the midst of building a new house in Phuket. She said Sammann has a daughter who lives on Kaua'i.