HAWAII KAI, Hawaii -- Criminal charges are possible in the death of a 17-year-old diver who was run over by a boat this weekend in Hawaii Kai, authorities said. The victim's dive partner said the powerboat that struck two divers was speeding and ran over both the divers and their warning buoy.

Victim 1 and a friend were hit in an area near China Walls, where speeding boats often get too close to divers, divers said. "We have boats come ripping through this channel right here and my kids are just diving right here. I have to holler on out to them and say 'Slow down, there's divers in the water,' flag out and everything," diver said.

Victim 1 died after a propeller on a 26-foot saltwater specialty yellow fin struck him and a friend who survived, police said. On a diving forum Web site, a friend named Witness 1 who said he was with them wrote, "When my friend got run over, his float was less than 5 feet away. His float got to up from the props of the propeller. HOW DO YOU NOT SEE A FLOAT WITH DIVE FLAG!?" What a lot of people don't realize is that under the law a diver in the water is like a pedestrian on the road and a marker is like a crosswalk. So someone who hits a marker and a diver could be in a lot of trouble.

State law says that boats must stay 100 feet away from dive markers and slow to no-wake speed within 200 feet. "The boat was right on top of them. The boat was going VERY fast when it hit them," Victim 1’s dive partner said on the forum. "If you hit somebody you should be charged as well as a car," said.

The surviving dive partner said they were far from the usual boat channel, in 20 feet of water. The Department of Land and Natural Resources is investigating the incident. There was no evidence the 32-year-old boat owner was intoxicated, police said.
Hawaii Kai                    