# Rogue wave kills Mother in Maui



## Mauiwmn (Jul 22, 2014)

I read this today in USA Today.  Such a horrible accident and loss for this family.
I did a little digging and this occurred at Makena Beach. 
This will make me more cautious in the future.  We have bodysurfed in rough waters off Kaanapali Beach near the Westin Hotel previously.  The waters can be rocky and those waves are extremely strong at times.

(NEWSER) – Flight attendant Wendi Van Briesen was bodysurfing with her 13-year-old son, Tanner, in Maui when a huge wave turned the family's first vacation to Hawaii tragic, knocking her unconscious, shattering two of her vertebrae and putting her into a coma.

Van Briesen's husband, Aaron, and 11-year-old daughter, McKenna, witnessed the accident from the beach, and Aaron, a schoolteacher, pulled her out of the water and performed CPR. A week later, the Arizona native died while on life support, reports Arizona's 3TV.

"There are no words to describe it when you walk in and see her on a ventilator," her sister-in-law told Hawaii News Now. "It's been absolutely awful for our family—to go on vacation in Hawaii for the first time and go straight from an airplane to a hospital."

The family had planned to fly to Kauai for the remainder of their vacation, but are instead flying home to Gilbert, Ariz., to plan the funeral. A GoFundMe page created when Wendi Van Briesen was still on life support has raised more than $42,000 to help with family expenses. (Another woman recently died in Maui while ziplining.)


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## daventrina (Jul 22, 2014)

*Bad couple of weeks at Big Beach*

Be careful out there...
Bad couple of weeks at Big Beach 

People Nationwide Rally To Help Man Paralyzed While On Vacation In Hawaii To Get Flight Home
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...7696.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&ir=Hawaii

"Todd Duitsman, a man who was paralyzed while vacationing in Hawaii and stranded on the island for a couple weeks, is finally getting a ride back home to Stanwood, Washington.

While body surfing the shore break at Big Beach on Maui, the father of three was swept by a large wave and slammed into the sand head first, according to Hawaii News Now. He endured a severe spine injury and was left paralyzed from the neck down. ..."


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## davidvel (Jul 22, 2014)

For those who are less experienced in ANY ocean, always keep your arms stretched out ahead of you any time you dive into/through/under waves, and when you are body surfing. This can lessen the risk of a catastrophic neck/spine injury.


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## slip (Jul 22, 2014)

We were there last December and the lifeguard was really busy warning 
Everyone about the dangers of the waves the day we were there. We're not
Experienced but we were smart enough to not attempt to go in the water.


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## Kauai Kid (Jul 23, 2014)

Glad you didn't go in.

We were parked on Kauai's north shore to see Fifty Foot waves several years ago!  They were "only" thirty footers that made an incredible amount of noise when they crashed.  

There were people walking along the shore with boogie boards  and a native mentioned to me when rogue waves come along sometimes they wash up onto the parking area and the people walking the beach would be pulled out to sea.  

Common sense is not very prevalent.

Sterling


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## presley (Jul 23, 2014)

I don't know how dangerous the ocean in Maui is, but it seems like I read about more accidents and shark attacks there than anywhere else.  I was planning on taking my husband there for his bday in 2016, but now I am wondering if I should stick with a place that know better.  

Why are there so many reports like this for Maui?  Is the ocean just way more crazy there or are people on vacation too laid back and not paying attention?


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## klpca (Jul 23, 2014)

presley said:


> I don't know how dangerous the ocean in Maui is, but it seems like I read about more accidents and shark attacks there than anywhere else.  I was planning on taking my husband there for his bday in 2016, but now I am wondering if I should stick with a place that know better.
> 
> Why are there so many reports like this for Maui?  Is the ocean just way more crazy there or are people on vacation too laid back and not paying attention?



Makena Beach (aka Big Beach) has a crazy shore break. There are flatter beaches all over Maui that are probably "safer" if you are concerned. 

No doubt there seems to be more shark activity on Maui but I'm not sure if it is actually because there are more sharks or it is just reported more often.  You are probably more likely to get in a car accident than attacked by a shark though. (Just guessing - no evidence to back that up ).

Maui is awesome - and so convenient for us San Diegan's. Alaska Airlines direct from SAN-OGG - it doesn't get much better than that. You get there before lunch!


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## DavidnRobin (Jul 23, 2014)

Maui is awesome (and has a high-level of tourists) - and part of the reason you hear about incidences like these in HI.  As with any ocean activity (anywhere) - caution should prevail.


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## taffy19 (Jul 23, 2014)

Makena Beach is often dangerous and there are warning signs but people still go in anyway.

When my husband was in the hospital in Maui, there was a woman who also had broken her neck in less than a foot deep water at Makena Beach because of a rogue wave that came in suddenly. She was completely paralyzed and was still there after my husband went home about a month later.

Flying home with private medical transportation is extremely expensive and commercial airlines will not fly you home if you need medical assistance which makes total sense. I had to hire a nurse to go with him as that was still cheaper than going by private jet.

If there are warning signs on a beach that means that the beach can be dangerous but there are people do not pay attention to these signs.

PS. Makena is one of the only beaches left that is still unspoiled. You need to, at least, see it.


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## VegasBella (Jul 23, 2014)

Presley,
The Florida Museum of Natural History says:
"Shark attack is a potential danger that must be acknowledged by anyone that frequents marine waters, but it should be kept in perspective. Bees, wasps and snakes are responsible for far more fatalities each year. In the United States deaths occur up to 30 more times from lighting strikes per year, than from shark attacks per year. For most people, any shark-human interaction is likely to occur while swimming or surfing in nearshore waters. From a statistical standpoint the chances of dying in this area are markedly higher from many other causes (such as drowning and cardiac arrest) than from shark attack. Many more people are injured and killed on land while driving to and from the beach than by sharks in the water. Shark attack trauma is also less common than such beach-related injuries as spinal damage, dehydration, jellyfish and stingray stings and sunburn. Indeed, many more sutures are expended on sea shell lacerations of the feet than on shark bites! "

https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/attacks/perspect.htm

Plus good info about sharks in Maui here: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/sharks/


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## Jim Bryan (Jul 24, 2014)

Unfortunately many people leave their good sense on shore when they go into the water. Living in Florida and growing up at the beach I have seen many crazy things happen, many of them just unnecessary. :annoyed:


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## daventrina (Jul 24, 2014)

presley said:


> I don't know how dangerous the ocean in Maui is ...



The ocean is dangerous everywhere and many other places more so than Maui.

I wouldn't change a vacation to another destination because of these limited incidence.

Entering the ocean anywhere involves some risk, risk mitigation, and common sense.

Follow the beach safety rules and use some common sense and it would be expected that you'd have a wonderful vacation. 

As for sharks, Hawaii isn't so bad compared to Florida, California, and the Carolinas.
https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/GAttack/mapusa.htm
https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/GAttack/mapHawaii.htm


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## RnU (Jul 24, 2014)

*Queens Bath, Kauai*

When we were on Kauai 3 years ago we visited the Queens Bath. Seeing the plaque with the death count at the entrance put quite a scare into me. So you can imagine my shock when my hubby calls me over to a deserted water hole he's sitting in, the water inside calm and the rocks around it dry. I told him to get out immediately...which, reluctantly, he did. 

So we're standing a bit further inland, he's still debating me, and when I turn around I see my teenage son right next to the water hole.

I scream at him to get away from it RIGHT NOW, which, to his credit he did at great speed. The second he reaches us a HUGE wave crashes over the whole area. They would have both been gone!!!

I have never seen the 2 of them look so white and thinking about it still makes me sick. The waters around the Hawaiian islands demand respect, and you better give it to them!!!


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## daventrina (Jul 30, 2014)

Folks,
Be careful ...

http://mauinow.com/2014/07/29/kahului-man-pulled-from-south-maui-waters/


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## MOXJO7282 (Jul 30, 2014)

RnU said:


> When we were on Kauai 3 years ago we visited the Queens Bath. Seeing the plaque with the death count at the entrance put quite a scare into me. So you can imagine my shock when my hubby calls me over to a deserted water hole he's sitting in, the water inside calm and the rocks around it dry. I told him to get out immediately...which, reluctantly, he did.
> 
> So we're standing a bit further inland, he's still debating me, and when I turn around I see my teenage son right next to the water hole.
> 
> ...



We were just at the blowhole in north Maui and I really thought I was going to be filming a man's death because this one person who appeared to be a foreigner went right up to the blow hole and was getting his picture taken as he pointed 2 feet away. And the water spout every so often while we were there was strong with waves also crashing over the rocks from the other directions. This guy was either a fool or had a death wish because he put himself in a very dangerous position.  And he stood there for at least 10 minutes within 5 feet or less at times just pointing and smiling for his picture to be taken by all.


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