Measures promised at location of fatal fall
The ridge had worried residents but property ownership is unclear
Developer Castle & Cooke Hawaii promised yesterday to install warning signs and construction fencing along a ridge behind homes being built in Mililani Mauka where a 15-year-old boy plunged to his death Thursday.
New homeowners along Kelakela Street said the area is unsafe for children, and would like to see fencing put up.
The Medical Examiner's Office has identified the victim as Robert Hartsock.
Hartsock died Thursday of multiple internal injuries, a medical investigator said.
The teen had been hiking with his brother, 10, and two friends when the accident occurred shortly before 2 p.m.
He had been sitting on a rock at the edge of the ridge when the rock gave way and the boy fell 80 to 100 feet into a stream bed in Launani Valley below.
The Launani Valley Community Association members have been worried about youngsters playing along the stream bed and cliff. It had installed chain-link fencing below to prevent people from going into the stream bed.
A resident in Launani Valley said she had seen boys playing in the area and had brought it up to the community association board, which had planned to approach Castle & Cooke on Thursday.
"A this time we do not know all the facts leading up to this accident," said a written statement from Castle & Cooke. The company has not yet determined who owns the property from which the boy fell.
The installation of the signs and fencing is being done "as a precautionary measure," the statement said.