A 26-year-old man sadly drowned while swimming on Hawaii’s Big Island. Photo: Hawaii News Now//Screenshot
A 26-year-old man drowned at Lekeleke Bay on Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday, April 11, despite another man’s heroic attempts to save him. The Hawaii Police Department identified the victim as Mathen Jackson of Kailua-Kona.
According to Hawaii News Now, a man who was passing by, Ian Kowalczyk, attempted to rescue the man who was drowning. However, when he pulled the man to shore, a wave swept the victim away, and Kowalczyk didn’t have the energy to go in after him.
“He started taking on water, and he was breathing in water and I don’t even remember, but I just jumped in, and I started praying, and I was like ‘Jesus please, if you can help me, just please help me rescue this man,’” Kowalczyk, a former firefighter and Navy medic, told Hawaii News Now. “The chop picked up, I thought it was going to be two of us that were dead, and it was so much harder than I thought it was going to be to help him. When the wave took him, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so defeated in my life.”
When Kowalczyk couldn’t continue, Jackson’s friend jumped in the water after him. Firefighters and two rescue swimmers arrived on the scene soon thereafter, putting Jackson on a nearby tour boat to administer CPR. He was pronounced dead later that day at Kona Community Hospital.
