Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
By COLIN M. STEWART
Tribune-Herald staff writer
A pair of stabilizing anchors failed to keep a zip line platform from collapsing, killing one worker and critically injuring another on Sept. 21, according to a police report.
Additionally, contractors working on the project told police that the same zip line — Line No. 8 at the Honolii Mountain Outpost course recently built for Hilo-based eco-tourism company KapohoKine Adventures — had experienced a similar collapse prior to the accident that claimed the life of 36-year-old worker Ted Callaway.
Contained in the dozens-of-pages-long Hawaii County Police Department report is a record of interviews by lead investigator Detective Wendall Carter with county Public Works officials, representatives of the company contracted to build the eight-line course, GoZip Hawaii/Experiential Resources Inc. (ERi), and others.
On the day after the collapse of the 30-foot tower, Carter reported visiting the accident scene along the Honolii Stream in Paukaa with Brandon Gonzales and Warren Lee, deputy-director and director, respectively, of the county’s Public Works Department. Carter described seeing “two 12-foot long auger anchors” that had been pulled out of the ground.
“After inspecting the scene as well as the two anchors which had unearthed, he (Lee) informed that the cause of this accident was due to the anchor failure which was holding up and stabilizing the platforms,” Carter wrote.
He said that he was “also informed while at the scene that per the building specifications, the (platform’s) utility poles were supposed to be covered or driven approximately 71/2 feet deep.”
Carter’s measurements of the poles revealed, however, that they had only been buried 5 feet deep.
“This was evident due to the fact that the dirt line on the utility pole stopped at approximately 5 feet,” he wrote. He added that “there was no additional support to hold the anchors in after they were driven into the ground.”
Meanwhile, Todd Domeck, owner of GoZip and ERi, told investigators that the same platform had collapsed once before, about eight weeks prior to the fatal accident.
Carter initially asked Domeck during a Sept. 26 interview if any of the platforms had failed prior to the accident, and he replied “No,” according to the report.
Later, however, “he further went on to explain to me … that Line No. 8 had fallen prior to this incident as a cable had broken, but (Domeck) did not find out about it until yesterday.”
“He stated that they have had anchor failure on the utility pole for Line No. 8 as his crew did not put a 7-foot shaft attached to it and it had pulled out and stated that he thinks that it was on Line No. 8.”
Later, Carter wrote: “He then stated, ‘Yes, it is the same tower that collapsed,’ and confirmed it.”
Other employees later confirmed that information, adding that the tower was erected again much in the same manner and near the original location.
Carter added that Domeck told him he was eager to find the “smoking gun” behind the accident, as he helps to write the standards for challenge courses.
“He then explained to me that according to the twist on how the platform had fallen, it appears that the left anchor, which is closest to the hill failed first and then the second anchor pulled out. He then went on to state that the anchors used to hold up these platforms were the heaviest that they make.”
Domeck said that the anchors should have held up to 40,000 pounds, according to the report, and that there was only about 9,000 pounds of tension on them on Line No. 8.
Domeck directed a Monday request for comment to company President John White. A call to White’s office was not returned as of press time.
In a phone interview last week, Ilene Callaway said that she was thankful to her son Ted’s employer, GoZip, for flying his remains home for burial.
“They covered all the costs of the funeral, and were very good about everything, barring no expense” she said. “But, it’s a little company, and I wonder if they were cutting corners. Could they have afforded to put cement on the anchors?
“In the end, it’s all about money. … I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to any one else if it can be avoided and also I want to know why it happened to Ted.”
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.