UPDATE - MAUI: HMB Swimmer Loses Arm, Former City Staffer Killed

Update 9/7 4:43 p.m.: A spokesperson at Maui Memorial Hospital has told Half Moon Bay Patch that the hospital cannot release information on John Caughlin's condition, based on the patient's wishes.

Update 9/7 12:02 p.m.: The Maui News reports that 38-year-old Santa Cruz man Gerald Galaway was charged on Tuesday with second-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Celestial Cassman, the former deputy city attorney for Half Moon Bay.

The article says that Maui County Prosecuting Attorney John D. Kim referred to reports which documented a call to 911 "alleging that a woman was hit onto pavement and dragged into the woods between Mile Markers 37 and 38 on Kahekili Highway."

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Two individuals with separate connections to Half Moon Bay suffered serious consequences on the Hawaiian island of Maui late last week, according to reports.

Severe injury for Half Moon Bay resident during collision with boat results in amputation, continued surgery

John Caughlin, 41, was badly hurt after being hit by a 28-foot boat on Saturday while competing in the last stretch of the 9.6-mile Maui Channel Swim on Sept. 3, reported the Oak Streakers (a Southern California swim group) via the blog Open Water Source.

The Pacific Masters Swim website reports that the Half Moon Bay resident was "was sucked in the propeller wash" of the boat.

Open Water Source reports that Caughlin's swimming partner Mike Mitchell witnessed the accident and also refers to Caughlin as appearing to have been "sucked" under the boat.

Caughlin, the blog says, was put on a jet ski and taken to Maui Memorial Hospital for treatment, which included surgery. The blog reports that the attending physician said that Caughlin's right arm "just above the elbow had to be amputated due to severe vascular damage and his left hand was reattached, but his thumb and index finger are gone."

Caughlin's accident was confirmed by longtime friend and fellow Half Moon Bay resident , who said that Caughlin has resided in Half Moon Bay for about 15 years. Caughlin's mother, sister and a few close friends are currently in Maui to support the swimmer, Costello said.

The swimmer's family could not be reached for immediate comment.

Caughlin is an avid athlete, according to Costello, and has participated in a previous Maui Channel Swim and several other open water swims, as well as two cross-country bike rides, she said. 

Caughlin underwent surgery yesterday and is scheduled to undergo another surgery today, Costello said Tuesday evening.

An investigation of the cause of the accident by authorities is currently in progress, the blog reported.

Half Moon Bay Patch will continue to update this story.

Former Half Moon Bay deputy city attorney victim of homicide

Last Thursday, Celestial S.D. Cassman, a former deputy city attorney of Half Moon Bay and the current deputy city attorney of Santa Cruz and Capitola, was the while vacationing on the island, sources to the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported yesterday.

According to the article, police called to the scene of a domestic dispute on Nakalele Point on Sept. 1 found Cassman "unresponsive" at approximately 7:30 p.m. The Sentinel refers to a local police officer as saying that a 38-year-old Santa Cruz man who Cassman was reportedly vacationing with jumped in the water when police approached him.

The Santa Cruz man — identified as Gerald Galaway — was rescued the next morning, and is considered to be a suspect in the homicide, but has not been arrested or charged in the incident, the Sentinel reported. On Tuesday, he was being treated at Maui Memorial Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries, the article says, as well as being under police detention.

Cassman was also an attorney who worked at the Santa Cruz law firm of Atchison, Barisone, Condotti & Kovacevich, the same firm of Half Moon Bay City Attorney Tony Condotti.

Watch a news report of the story in the video posted to the media box at right.

To read the full article, click here.

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