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Arizona tourist, 18, dies in fall off bridge on Maui

By Star-Advertiser staff

POSTED: 05:42 p.m. HST, Jul 15, 2012

Maui firefighters recovered the body of an 18-year-old man around 2 p.m. today after he fell off Makapipi Bridge, county officials reported.

The visitor from Mesa, Ariz., went over a guard rail where he slipped and fell approximately 40 feet down onto some rocks and then into a pond below, officials said.

He was with his father, his father's girlfriend and the girlfriend's niece.

The bridge crosses a stream on the road to Hana.

A county spokesman said a Nahiku resident went looking in the pond for the victim and reported seeing him approximately 30 feet under water.

Rescue divers found and extricated the man before airlifting him to a landing zone and turning the body over to Maui police.

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SteveToo wrote:

So sorry for the loss of life. But now they can sue the state because there were no DANGER signs telling people not to climb over the guard rail.

on July 15,2012 | 09:45PM

Manapua_Man wrote:

That's why I cringe when I see visitors holding their infant children over The Blow Hole in Hawaii Kai, just for thrills. One of these days... that will result in a tragedy... from which the State would be sued for not posting a sign next to the Blow Hole stating that it is dangerous.

on July 15,2012 | 10:44PM

Notawannabe wrote:

Excuse me but do we need to post signs? Cause of death...stupidity.

on July 16,2012 | 08:02AM

Cubsfan wrote:

I guess now we have to make everything child proof so people not too smart don't do foolish things. If there is a cliff with a 40 foot drop I'm sure not going to walk on the ledge. How about the kid who died at the blowhole, people were telling him not to go by the spout. Later the parents sue the state because they weren't warning signs from the direction. Huh? People warned him but he didn't listen. This has everything to do with his growing up and thinking he knows everything and not respecting other people. Very sad

on July 16,2012 | 01:51AM

loquaciousone wrote:

You can't fix stupid.

on July 16,2012 | 07:36AM

toomuchpilikia wrote:

Instead of the Airlines issuing Agricultural Forms....Passengers should receive waver forms to sign releasing the city and state from lawsuits. We cannot legislate common sense, and for attorneys there will never be enough signage. What a terrible loss to the family!

on July 16,2012 | 03:39AM

Punahele wrote:

That's a great idea and an important public service. Maybe not a waiver, but printed information and an in-flight island safety video that shows the beauty educates visitors about the dangers and responsibilities (watch kids, stay on official paths, no underage drinking, no climbing onto hotel railings, etc). At the end could some kind of form to sign with a nice tear-off card testifying that everyone understand their responsibilities. It still won't prevent lack of common sense, but it would reduce accidents and pay for itself in saved lawsuit payouts. Sad that even the "professionals" have no common sense, though. The Bold Earth website (that Tyler Madoff was with) shows a prominent photo with eight children standing with their back to the ocean posing for the photo as a wave crashes behind them. I hoped it was just a slick depth of field photo where the wave was far in the background, but no, you can see the spash of the wave in front of their legs, too. Guess what kinds of photo ops their young clients will try to get on their tours after seeing that picture?

on July 16,2012 | 05:08AM

Nesmith wrote:

To the family: I am truly sorry for your loss.

on July 16,2012 | 05:32AM

bigtaiho wrote:

Like I said before "Hawaii is not Disneyland" and "do white people have common sense?" Hope the property does not belong to a private land owner.

on July 16,2012 | 06:07AM

loquaciousone wrote:

It seems that every day brings another story of a tourist falling off of something.

on July 16,2012 | 07:44AM

lowtone123 wrote:

Why do people act reckless on vacation and do things they wouldn't do when at home?

on July 16,2012 | 07:45AM

8082062424 wrote:

Locals Jump from the bridges into the ponds. there just about 50 ponds out there. He though he could do it to. sad. his parents should have told him not to

on July 16,2012 | 08:00AM

rayhawaii wrote:

Best to put a before and after photo laminated on a bunch of signs saying " This could be you" or something like that. So sad. I see it all the time. Some people think they will live for ever. So sad. So sad.

on July 16,2012 | 08:18AM