A bodyboarder, blood rushing from his face and part of his orbital bone showing after a beating at the hands of a fellow surfer, could not get one person to help identify his attacker, he said recently. And the attack
A bodyboarder, blood rushing from his face and part of his orbital bone showing after a beating at the hands of a fellow surfer, could not get one person to help identify his attacker, he said recently.
And the attack occurred at one of the most- crowded and family friendly beaches on Kaua‘i.
In an apparent case of “surf rage,” 33-year-old bodyboarder Steven Veillette was beaten in the surf fronting Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club in Po‘ipu, while his assailant allegedly screamed, “I’m going to kill you, haole.”
Veillette received 15 stitches and three broken teeth in the attack, which he said was unprovoked. And he fears that his assailant will do it again.
“One way or the other, this kid should be off the beach,” Veillette said. “I’ve seen him (hassle) at least a half dozen people. Usually, I just ignore him.”
While he sat on the beach and implored fellow surfers for help to identify the attackers to police, he said, his assailant calmly continued surfing for a half-hour while he bled on the shore.
“It was as if I was a raving lunatic and people are just staring at me,” said Veillette, who still had blood in his right eye and bandages on his face well over a week after the event. “No one (wanted) anything to do with it, to be a witness, anything.”
According to county officials, a 24-year-old Koloa man, Solomon N. Nakolomoana Fernandez Jr., was arrested for second-degree assault less than an hour after the incident, which took place earlier this month.
Fernandez will be arraigned on Thursday, Oct. 21 in Koloa, Veillete said.
While stories of “surf rage” are somewhat common in surfing circles around Kaua‘i (and the rest of the surfing world), the location of Veillette’s attack is surprising, given that the surf break, commonly known as “Waiohai,” is known as a beginner and family wave.
In fact, according to Veillette, his attacker, Fernandez, was surfing with his father at the time of the incident.
And it’s not the first time (or the first time that day) that Veillette has heard yelling and screaming in the ocean from the younger Fernandez, he said. But this time, Veillette said, Fernandez didn’t stop hassling other surfers with the words.
The incident occurred when Veillette attempted to paddle around Fernandez and Fernandez’s father, after catching a wave.
“I was doing what I could to get out of the way,” Veillette said “I (was) basically paddling into the reef” to avoid them.
But when trying to make it out of the younger Fernandez’s way, Veillette’s body board and Fernandez’ long board bumped.
“I didn’t think anything of it,” he said.
But Fernandez apparently did.
Veillette said that Fernandez started screaming and cursing at him. But “as usual,” he just ignored him.
Next thing he knew, Veillette said, Fernandez was jumping off his board and pounding him.
“With all of his momentum, he came off the board and hit me,” he said. “I just had enough time to duck my head.”
The first punch split his face open just next to his right eye, and “immediately a pool of blood” formed in the water, Veillette said. “I was bleeding so bad I couldn’t see anything.
“He just kept hitting me,” he said. “The only thing I heard (was) ‘I’m going to kill you, haole.'”
Veillette said he had to kick him off, and struggled to shore. Fernandez apparently paddled back out to catch a few more waves.
“When I got to the beach, I started to realize how bad the damage really was,” he said. “He had the audacity to surf with his dad for another half hour.”
Veillette continued to wait on the shore, as he wanted to get Fernandez’s name, he said.
As folks came out of the water, he said, he asked them to wait for police to identify his assailant. But fellow surfers refused.
“There (was) blood all over the place,” he said. “No one would help me.”
Eventually, he said, Marriott’s Waiohai security agents came, and they called police and began to administer first aid.
But before police arrived, Fernandez’s father apparently came to shore.
“I approached him. I asked him if that’s his son,” Veillette said. “He started threatening me and swearing at me.”
As the man Veillette identified as Fernandez’s father walked to his car, the younger Fernandez paddled west towards the Sheraton Kauai Resort. Veillette said he got the license plate, and the police arrived, “all just in time for this guy to drive off.”
But passing on the license plate apparently helped, he said. He later found out Fernandez’s name from a friend, and passed that along to police as well.
Meanwhile, Veillete spent the rest of the day at Kalaheo Clinic receiving stitches and feeling woozy. He’s still recovering from the incident, and is grateful, he said, his surf session was not lethal.
“He was trying to knock me out. If I (went) unconscious, I could’ve drowned,” Veillette said. “I don’t remember blacking out, but could have for a few seconds.”
Fernandez could not be reached for comment.
Tom Finnegan, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.
