Two days later, Ray, 64, and other vacationers snorkeled around Wailea Beach, situated in front of the hotel resort. While walking on a trail adjacent to the beach, Patricia told USA TODAY that she saw other snorkelers helping her husband.

She told the news outlet that she rushed to the beach, where “things deteriorated quickly,” and despite calling 911, medical professionals were unable to revive her husband.

Although the autopsy attributed Ray Johnson’s death to accidental drowning, Patricia Johnson and her family contest this.

In the lawsuit, which was reviewed by Business Insider, the Johnson family argues that ROPE — Rapid Onset Pulmonary Edema —likely led to Ray Johnson’s passing.

ROPE is a sudden-onset condition characterized by the accumulation of fluid in the lungs’ air sacs, which can make breathing difficult, according to the Mayo Clinic.

A July 2010 Snorkel Safety Study, conducted in collaboration with the Hawaii State Department of Health and the Hawaii Tourism Authority, distinguishes drowning by ROPE from drowning by aspirating water.

It said ROPE does not necessarily need “submersion in or inhalation of liquid” and often looks different from drowning by aspiration.

The study said drowning by ROPE often involves shortness of breath, confusion, and unconsciousness, with an absence of a visible struggle.

Patricia Johnson told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that Ray had kept his head above water before appearing disorientated.

“It didn’t make sense. When I got the autopsy report, it said drowning. I watched Ray come in,” Patricia Johnson told KITV. “When you are drowning, you are not talking to the people around you.”

According to the lawsuit, Ray Johnson eventually lost consciousness before reaching the shore.

The lawsuit cites the Snorkel Safety Study and accuses the defendants — the Fairmont Kea Lani, the Hawaiian Tourism Authority, and the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau — of negligence for failing to adequately warn tourists about the risks of ROPE when snorkeling.

The lawsuit said the defendants have “essentially ignored the Study, its conclusions about the risks to tourist safety, and especially its recommended warnings.”

The study noted that several factors can contribute to ROPE, including snorkel resistance and underlying heart and lung diseases.

While acknowledging Ray’s history of cardiac issues, the lawsuit said that he had not been advised by a doctor to refrain from physical activity.

The lawsuit also said that Ray wasn’t aware that he should wait a few days after flying to snorkel: “Had he received the warnings crafted by the Study authors, he would have heeded them.”

While the Snorkel Safety Study acknowledged the plausibility of air travel as a contributing factor to ROPE, it noted that it remains only a hypothesis.

The Johnson family’s attorney, Jay Stuemke, told Business Insider by email that: “Since the tourism industry refuses to do the right thing and warn incoming tourists of these hazards, it is incumbent upon us to do so.”

He added: “If even one life is saved by this message, then Ray Johnson will not have died in vain.”

Speaking to USA TODAY, Patricia Johnson said she hoped the lawsuit would lead to more warnings. “I truly believe my husband would still be here if we’d been warned,” she said. 

The Fairmont Kea Lani and Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while the Hawaiian Tourism Authority declined to comment on litigation.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii saw another rise in fatal overdoses last year — fueled by the increase use of fentanyl.

Preliminary data from the state’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program show an alarming jump in deaths in Maui County in 2023. Gary Yabuta, of Hawaii HIDTA, said the figures on Maui were steady throughout the year and did not spike after the August wildfires.

And there’s no indication the situation is getting better.

First responders statewide have been called to multiple mass overdoses in recent weeks.

On Oahu, Thomas Square was the site of five calls in one weekend in April.

Three people in the park needed drug overdose treatment on April 27. The next day, two men died after suspected fentanyl use in the park.

The rise in 911 calls is taking a toll on first responders.

“The more patients there are, the more resources we’re having to use and send,” said Sunny Johnson, paramedic supervisor at Honolulu EMS.

HNN Investigates

Johnson said EMS is already taxed and more calls mean people are waiting longer for help to arrive.

The data shows only Hawaii Island had a decrease in drug overdose deaths in 2023, with 32.

The previous year, that number was 34.

Hawaii County police and the prosecutor’s office report drug arrests, indictments and convictions and show law enforcement there have targeted drug operations.

Honolulu reported 220 fatal overdoses in 2023, the same as 2022.

Kauai jumped to 30 from 23 the previous year.

But, Maui County saw a 49% jump, from 43 to 64 deaths.

Combined, those two counties pushed up the state numbers 6% for a total of 346 fatalities in 2023.

Most of those are still the result of meth use, but that is starting to slow.

The total number of people who died with meth in their system was 222 last year. The year prior, it was 201 for an increase of 10%.

Fentanyl-related deaths, though, were up 35% statewide, up to 107 from 79.

“There’s so much drugs coming in,” said Yabuta.

The growing availability of the antidote, Naloxone or Narcan, does appear to be making a difference, Yabuta said.

“It starts that care early and can help reverse some of those effects,” Johnson said.

Police officers, firefighters, other bystanders are using the nasal version until EMS can arrive with intravenous Narcan, which works quicker.

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Without the widespread use of the medicine, the fatal overdose numbers from fentanyl and other opioids would certainly be much higher, Yabuta said.

Narcan can be provided by the Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center (HHHRC) to any individuals who want it, for free on Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii Island, by calling (808) 521-2437.

HHHRC also provides online training on how to use the medicine, click here to request training.

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