WAIMEA, Hawaii -- A Kona man leading a Saturday outing in which two young women were swept over a 50-foot waterfall had checked out the route in advance, said the father of one of the injured women. Hike leader checked out Waimea
waterfall before two were hurtBut outing leader Michael Dennis may have been confused about the route of an aqueduct, said Steven Neill of Kona.
Neill's daughter Lindsay, 17, suffered a crushed vertebra when she was swept over the waterfall shortly after noon Saturday.
She was treated at North Hawaii Hospital Saturday and returned home yesterday. Her father said it is "miraculous" that she was able to come home so soon.
Also swept over the falls was Mari Braden, 21. She suffered a compound fracture of her left leg and remains in guarded to serious condition at Kona Hospital, the staff there said.
Steven Neill said Dennis hadn't been able to see the waterfall in the hills east of Waimea. "He just missed it," Neill said.
Police identified the waterway as Puukapu Stream, and the Fire Department described it as an aqueduct.
Dennis, his two sons and the two injured women were floating on rubber inner tubes while Dennis' wife walked alongside.
The accident took place about five minutes into the float.
The two women were in the water more than an hour before Fire Department personnel pulled them out of the pool in the deep cleft in the rocks using a helicopter, Neill said.
The two victims were floating in the cold water, each unaware that the other was present for about 45 minutes, he said.
Lindsay had remained right at the base of the falls, while Mari was carried around a corner behind a rock where Lindsay couldn't see her, Neill said.
A twin-engine Otter aircraft on a ferry flight from the mainland evidently ran out of fuel and went down in the ocean about 62 miles from Hilo Saturday night. Pilot rescued after
running out of fuelThe pilot, William Bell, 64, from Texas, was picked up by a Coast Guard helicopter minutes after he ditched the plane.
Bell, the plane's only occupant, appeared to have no injuries and was taken to Hilo Hospital, where he refused treatment.
From the hospital, he was transported to an area hotel, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard got word at about 8 p.m. the aircraft might not have enough fuel and might have to ditch near Hilo.
It immediately launched a C-130 aircraft to meet and escort the plane. An H-65 helicopter was flown to Hilo in case the plane did go down.
WAILUKU -- Residents would face a 29.9 percent increase in water rates, and businesses a 51.8 percent increase over five years, under a schedule sent by the Maui water board to Mayor Linda Crockett Lingle last week. Maui water rates may
increase substantiallyTerryl Vencl, executive director of the Maui Hotel Association, said her group and the Maui Chamber of Commerce support the increase because the money is needed to maintain the system.
Vencl said the increase also encourages conservation by charging higher rates to residential and commercial users who use more water.
The hotel association last year opposed a rate increase that called for a more than 100 percent increase in rates for hotels in a five-year period.
Vencl said the board trimmed its construction budget, lessening the need for higher increases.
A residential household that uses 600 gallons of water a day would see its monthly bill increase from $60.66 to $78.77 by the year 2002.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Info] section for subscription information.
Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffBus driver says man with beer punched her
Second-degree assault charges are pending against a 37-year-old man who allegedly punched a city bus driver in the face yesterday.The driver, 53, had ordered the passenger off the bus in Kaneohe for drinking alcohol. She allegedly warned the man to store an open can of beer he was carrying when he boarded the bus.
Police said the woman suffered pain to her jaw and fingers after being punched in the face at about 12:25 p.m.
The suspect was arrested nearby.
Other Police/Fire headlines
in today’s Star-Bulletin:
- Kalihi man's jaw broken in beating-robbery
- Teen assaulted while camping at Sand Island
- Man answers door, overpowered by robber
- Officer injured during 2 men's brawl in park
- Three hurt in attack by pipe-wielding group
