LAS VEGAS >> The Clark County coroner’s office ruled Tuesday that a former Hawaii woman, 24-year-old Chelsea Patricia Ake-Salvacion, died from asphyxia caused by low oxygen levels in a cryotherapy chamber and that her death was an accident.
Ake-Salvacion was found Oct. 20 at the spa where she worked after apparently entering a treatment chamber chilled by liquid nitrogen while she was alone at the location the night before.
Normal air is about 21 percent oxygen, but the coroner said the chambers can bring down the oxygen levels to less than 5 percent during treatments.
Breathing that air could cause a loss of consciousness and death.
The woman’s uncle, Albert Ake, has said Ake-Salvacion grew up in Hawaii and moved to Las Vegas more than two years ago with her boyfriend, who recently returned to Hawaii to take a job. She had planned to follow after another year at the spa and hoped to open a similar business of her own, Ake said.
Beach cleanup set for Ala Wai boat harbor
A nonprofit organization that focuses on environmental stewardship of beaches, oceans and other waterways is organizing a two-day trash cleanup at Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor this weekend.
Organized by a group of longshoremen called Puma Punku Ocean Clean Up Inc., the event is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Anyone interested in volunteering may call the group at 341-4262 or go to the harbor during the scheduled cleanup and locate Puma Punku’s president, Frank Ruiz. Additional information is available online at pumapunkuhawaii.com.
Hawaii County settles suit with widow of man who drowned
HILO >> Hawaii County has agreed to pay $20,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman whose husband drowned at Punaluu Black Sand Beach during their 2008 honeymoon.
The County Council settled the lawsuit last week with Catherine Sneyers of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. The settlement comes after Sneyers appealed Circuit Judge Glenn Hara’s February ruling dismissing the case, West Hawaii Today reported.
Sneyers and her 40-year-old husband, Edward McCarthy-Slaughter, had been snorkeling when he drowned about 100 yards offshore. They had entered an area of water not owned by the county.
Sneyers argued that the county was responsible for posting surf warning signs in the area. Sneyers claimed the county had posted other signs there telling beachgoers not to take sand from the beach and to keep a safe distance from turtles.
The judge had agreed that the county had a duty to warn beachgoers of dangerous conditions at the beach, but said that responsibility stopped at property lines.
Deputy Corporation Counsel Laureen Martin said the county was optimistic it would have won on appeal, but noted that there were “potential weaknesses in the case.”
“Ultimately, this settlement avoided significant risks and uncertainty,” she said. “The amount is also far less than the costs the county would have incurred in order to defend the action.”
