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Wailua Falls jumpers
to be billed for rescue

By Anthony Sommer
Kauai correspondent

LIHUE -- Two California men who purposely jumped over 80-foot Wailua Falls on Monday will receive bills of about $1,500 from Kauai County for their rescue.

Wesley Adams and Sean Davis, both 22 and from Temecula, Calif., were reported in stable condition at Wilcox Memorial Hospital yesterday. The hospital has not made public the extent of their injuries.

Witnesses said both men took a running jump off the top of the falls and landed in the pool below. They were rescued by Kauai firefighters and a helicopter.

Fire Chief David Sproat said their jump was no accident. If they do not pay, the county plans to charge them in a civil action, claiming gross negligence because of the "reckless disregard" for their own safety and the safety of the rescue crews.

A Koloa man, Manuel Rosa, also 22, went over the same falls Tuesday and had to be rescued by helicopter. County officials said he apparently slipped on wet rocks and fell. He won't be billed. Rosa was released from the hospital Thursday.

Wailua Falls is best known outside Kauai as the twin waterfalls seen in the opening of every episode of the original "Fantasy Island" television series, which ran from 1978 to 1984. The falls are within a state park.