Mid-Pacific fires 2 after deadly kayak accident during spring break trip

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 Monday 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 victim Maria Davis.

Maria Davis, 63, and Alaric Chiu, 5, were both found unresponsive in the waters off a Kaaawa beach after their kayak flipped over. Paramedics took them to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Mid-Pacific President Paul Turnbull said in a statement Monday that the independent school canceled all ocean-related field trips as well as elementary field trips for April.

The statement said the outside firm hired to investigate the incident provided findings in an initial report, and, based on those findings, the school was dismissing the two employees.

“Since these are personnel matters, I cannot comment further,” Turnbull said. “We will be filling these positions in the near future.”

Also based on the findings, the school will create a new full-time position with responsibility for compliance and safety.

“This person will have responsibility for policy compliance and will further develop our existing safety training and certification programs. This position will report to me and be supervised by Pat Garvey, the vice president of operations/chief financial officer,” Turnbull said.

In addition, the school will be reorganizing the external affairs and enrollment management department and assigning supervision of the Extended Learning Program to Edna Hussey, preschool and elementary school principal.

“As we continue to evaluate these findings and solicit input from our parents, faculty, staff and board members, we may take further actions and make additional policy changes,” Turnbull said.

“We continue to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation by the authorities,” he added. “There is no greater responsibility or higher priority than the safety of our students and we are committed to taking all necessary actions.”

Maria Davis was paddling a kayak with three boys — ages 5, 6 and 9 — in the late morning of March 28 when it capsized about 150 yards offshore.

Honolulu Fire Department personnel managed to rescue the two older children, but Davis and Chiu were found unresponsive in the water. Both were later pronounced dead at Adventist Health Castle hospital in Kailua.

Emergency responders said they saw no evidence the kayakers were wearing life vests. State law requires that children ages 12 and under wear personal flotation devices when aboard kayaks and other vessels.

Maria Davis, wife of Mid-Pacific chaplain Wendell Davis, was listed as camp supervisor in the school’s spring break program.

Her supervisor was her daughter, Puakailima Davis, who became coordinator of Mid-Pacific’s Extended Learning Program in the fall of 2017, overseeing after-school enrichment and day camps during breaks. She has a Ph.D. in education and previously worked for Kamehameha Schools’ early education program.

Siegfried is a former director of admissions at Maryknoll School as well as an associate director at Hawaii Pacific University.