The Hawaii County Council has voted to settle a 2013 case, stemming from the death of a zip line construction worker, for an undisclosed sum. The county was sued on the basis of permits it issued for the wooden towers that served as staging areas for the zip lines.
Ted Calloway was testing a cable on the Maui course after the tension had been adjusted to increase speed. The anchors holding the tower in place failed, releasing from the ground and causing the tower keeping the cable taut to collapse. Calloway’s family sued the county, as well as contractors and employment companies involved, on behalf of his minor children.
The course Calloway was testing closed following the tragedy, and was re-engineered with tower anchors drilled into the lava rock beneath the “Pahala ash” soil common in that area of Hawaii. In addition, tower poles were buried deeper into the earth for improved stability.
