Mid-Pacific Institute fires 2 after deadly kayak accident during spring break trip
LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI@STARADVERTISER.COM
A 63-year-old woman and 5-year-old boy drowned on March 28 off Kaaawa in a kayaking accident while on a Mid-Pacific Institute spring break excursion.
Mid-Pacific Institute has fired the coordinator of its Extended Learning Program and her boss in the wake of the spring break drownings of a 5-year-old boy and a staff member.
The school announced the moves today in response to the results of an investigation by a firm it hired to look into the March 28 incident.
Fired were Scott Siegfried, the school’s vice president of external affairs and enrollment, and extended learning coordinator Puakailima Davis, the daughter and supervisor of Maria Davis, who died in the kayaking accident.
•Memorial fund set up to help family of 5-year-old boy who drowned in Kaaawa
•5-year-old boy, woman drowned in Kaaawa kayak accident, Medical Examiner confirms
•5-year-old boy who died in kayak accident identified as St. Andrew’s student
•Kayak in fatal school outing was borrowed; no life vests evident
Maria Davis, 63, and Alaric Chiu, 5, and were both found unresponsive in the waters off Kaaawa beach the morning of March 28 after their kayak flipped over. Paramedics took them to the hospital where they were pronounced dead. Two other children who were on the same kayak were rescued.
Mid-Pacific also announced it is creating a new full-time position with responsibility for compliance and safety.
