Mauna Kea Beach Hotel faces
lawsuit over drowned guest

The victim's family accuses the resort of negligence

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Associated Press

HILO >> The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island has been sued by the family of a guest who drowned while snorkeling at the resort's beach last summer.

Mark Trueblood of Arizona got into difficulty while swimming to shore July 30, the lawsuit said.

A beachgoer saw Trueblood was in trouble and notified the lifeguard on duty, who brought him to shore and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, it said. Trueblood died later at a hospital.

The suit accused the resort of negligence for failing to have enough lifeguards. It also claimed the resort's lifeguards didn't have proper training and were distracted while on duty by having to perform other functions for guests.

Although the suit claimed the lifeguard who brought Trueblood to shore failed to keep a proper lookout, he was not named in the legal action filed Wednesday in Circuit Court.