Hawaii
Tropical vacation accident kills chef who worked at Michelin-starred restaurant
An acclaimed pastry chef was killed by a boulder during a picturesque hike on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, officials said.
Gianna Buzzetta, a 26-year-old from California, was hit by a falling boulder on March 23 as she was exploring the Makaleha Falls in Kauai with her boyfriend, Connor Quinton, the Kauai Fire Department said.
“They heard a really loud noise. [Quinton] looked up, but couldn’t figure out where the noise was coming from,” her dad, Sal Buzzettta, told 10News.
“Within a second, it happened … The rock dislodged from quite a ways up … then it landed on her,” he said.
NEVADA GIRL, 7, KILLED IN LAKE TAHOE SKI RESORT BOULDER ACCIDENT: POLICE
Gianna Buzzetta, 26, was hit by a falling boulder on March 23 as she was exploring the Makaleha Falls waterfall in Kauai with her boyfriend, Connor Quinton. (Buzzetta family)
Due to the remote location, there was no cell service, and Quinton sprinted to find help. According to the Kauai Fire Department, when first responders arrived, they found Buzzetta unconscious at the base of the falls, with labored breathing and heavy bleeding from an apparent head wound.
The chef needed to be airlifted to a local hospital, where she was later declared dead.
Caty Buzzetta, Gianna’s mother, said that Quinton was fulfilling her daughter’s lifelong dream to hike the 5.2-mile round trip hike to the cascading waterfall.
“She had told her boyfriend, Connor, that day, he had fulfilled her dreams, and it was the best day of her life,” Caty Buzzetta told KGTV.
The couple was set to get engaged and start a life together prior to the freak accident, her parents shared.
Gianna Buzzetta, 26, was a rising star at a Michelin restaurant in California. She worked as a pastry chef there. (JEUNE ET JOLIE/Instagram)
Buzzetta was a pastry chef at Michelin-starred French restaurant Jeune et Jolie, in Carlsbad, California. According to an online fundraiser, Buzzetta helped the restaurant achieve three Michelin stars over the years.
VACATION ABROAD TURNS TRAGIC FOR AMERICAN NURSE AFTER ACCIDENT LEAVES HER ‘ALL METAL’
“She was a huge part of the team. Super creative, super talented, incredibly hardworking,” her boss, John Resnick, told Fox 5 San Diego. “Humble, confident — I mean all these things that we want to see in the people we work with. So from that professional talent standpoint, she was incredible… Our whole team loved working alongside her.”
Gianna Buzzetta’s boss, John Resnick, shared how the 26-year-old’s work ethic and talent helped the team work towards success. (John Resnick/Instagram)
In a post on their Instagram page, Jeune et Jolie announced that it is raising funds for Buzzetta’s family by providing a special dinner service.
“Gianna was our former Pastry Chef, and our friend. She brought such joy, intensity, passion and love to this restaurant and to our team,” the restaurant’s team wrote. “Her sudden loss leaves all of us heartbroken, and searching for ways to be of help to her family.”
“And so, we are doing the one thing we know how to do. We are coming together as a restaurant, and welcoming guests in to celebrate the relationships that give our lives meaning,” they said.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Jeune et Jolie for comment.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Concrete fell from the exterior of an Ala Moana Center parking structure Monday afternoon near the Kapiolani Boulevard exit, damaging a vehicle.
No injuries were reported.
Security blocked an exit lane as debris scattered across the roadway. Ala Moana Center said they are grateful no one was hurt, and the lane will remain closed while structural engineers and construction professionals assess the damage and make repairs.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii weather: USGS revised 4.6 magnitude earthquake off Kona coast, south swell, passing showers
HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii (AP) — The on-and-off eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano broke a record Monday with the number of periods it has produced fountains of lava since it began erupting in December 2024, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
Monday marked 48 fountaining episodes, setting the record for any one eruption on Kilauea, said Katie Mulliken, a geologist and spokesperson with the observatory.
Episodes are separated by periods during which little to no lava erupts. Since lava is coming from the same vents in a crater at Kilauea’s summit, it is the same overall eruption, Mulliken said in an email.
There are several notable aspects of the current eruption, she said, including how accessible it is for viewing by residents and tourists. An eruption during the 1980s, in which 47 lava fountaining episodes occurred over about 3 1/2 years, occurred in a more remote area, she said.
The ongoing eruption is also reshaping the topography at the summit, she said.
But the lava fountains also can impact neighboring communities with volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra.
Kilauea, located on Hawaii Island, is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
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