A 75-year-old woman visitor from Washington suffered a fatal heart attack in Kalapaki Bay Thursday afternoon, a day after two near-drownings off Makua Beach. The woman, identified as Laurence C. Freidenrich, was found floating about 500 yards off Kalapakai Beach
A 75-year-old woman visitor from Washington suffered a fatal heart attack in
Kalapaki Bay Thursday afternoon, a day after two near-drownings off Makua
Beach.
The woman, identified as Laurence C. Freidenrich, was found floating
about 500 yards off Kalapakai Beach by a sailing instructor and student at 2:55
p.m., according to Kaua’i County spokeswoman Beth Tokioka.
The woman was
not responsive when she was pulled from the water and was brought to shore,
officials said. Unsuccessful efforts to revive her were made by a visitor,
employees at the Kaua’i Marriott Resort and and county firefighters from
Lihu’e.
She was taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital by ambulance and was
subsequently pronounced dead at the hospital at 3:37 p.m.
The victim was
initially thought to have drowned, but an autopsy confirmed that she had
suffered a heart attack, officials said.
Wednesday morning, a husband and
wife visiting from Georgia were rescued after they got caught swimming in
strong currents off Makua Beach in Ha’ena Wednesday morning, the Kaua’i Fire
Department reported.
The man was transported by ambulance to Wilcox
Memorial Hospital, where he remained in stable condition Thursday. The man was
semi-conscious and had swallowed a lot of saltwater when rescuers found him,
officials reported.
The man’s wife also was treated by American Medical
Response paramedics at the scene.
The names of the couple were not
released.
Responding to the 8:49 a.m. call, fire units from the Hanalei
fire station arrived at the North Shore beach shortly after 9 a.m., according
to fire Capt. Jay Harms. At about the same time, a Waniha resident and a
visitor helped bring the woman to shore.
Firefighter Norman Solomon swam
30 feet from the beach to help the man, Harms said.
Two county lifeguards
also arrived at the scene from Hanalei Bay on a personal watercraft, placed the
man aboard a sled and brought him back to shore, Harms said.
Staff
writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and
lchang@pulitzer.net
