Security guard working on Zuckerberg's large Hawaiian Property died and family not told for several hours. Why?
TestingTheNarrativeSep 14, 2023, 1:29:47 AM
- Rodney Medeiros [Security Guard for Zuckerberg Kauai Property] died before dawn on Aug. 5, 2019
- Where he was found,
- Ko‘olau Ranch, which is owned by several limited liability companies controlled by Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan
- Complaint filed in 2021 alleges Zuckerberg and head of security for the ranch are liable for Medeiros’ death
- According to fam attorney, Mike Stern,
- “It’s a steep, steep walk [up from the beach]. It was dark, it was raining, it was muddy,”
- “About halfway up … they found him leaning against a tree, holding his chest.”
- Medeiros was taken to Wilcox Medical Center in Līhuʻe, a hospital nearly 20 miles south of Ko‘olau Ranch, which is located in Moloa‘a on the North Shore of Kaua‘i.
- He died without his family’s knowledge, alleged by Stern.
- Stern also alleges, “If they had been told, they could have spent several hours talking to him,”
- “They were [eventually] informed by a text by somebody not even related to Zuckerberg or his company.”
- Why was he there?
- Medeiros usually received a ride to and from his remote beachside post, where he was tasked with reporting any passersby. In Hawai’i, the public is guaranteed access to walk along the shoreline.
- When did this happen?
- Aug. 4, 2019, his coworkers were unable to navigate their Kawasaki utility cart down either one of the two unpaved access trails leading to Medeiros’ position. He was told to make the climb out on foot.
- It was known the trails’ inaccessibility during bad weather was a consistent problem on Ko‘olau Ranch.
- Stern also alleges that while Medeiros had underlying hypertension, a review conducted by a Queen’s Hospital cardiologist links the hike to Medeiros’ heart attack and subsequent death.
- Zuckerberg and Chan expressed their condolences to Medeiros’ family with a typed, unsigned note and a $7,500 check Stern states.
- Both Zuckerberg and Chan could be named as witnesses if the wrongful death suit makes it to trial.
- Stern states, “I believe it’s clear that nothing is going to go on without them or him knowing, if it’s something as important as somebody who ultimately died after working or being on the property,” Stern said. “They were there at the house when it happened.”
- Interesting thoughts from the perspective of the family.
- Fast forward to August 18,2023 [10 days after the Lahaina, Maui Fires started] His family is now suing the Zuckerberg’s company, Pilaa Land, LLC, claiming negligence and wrongful death.
- According to Rodney's daughter [Ziba Medieros],
- “They would take him with a Kawasaki Mule and drive him to his post. And when his shift was over they would go down and pick him up and bring him back up.
- “It was storming. It was raining really bad,”
- adding that the Kilauea river had swelled — as it often does during heavy rains. The severe weather meant no one was able to pick up her father from his post.
- He was forced to walk up the hill, in the dark, in the mud, by himself.
- “It’s a cliff,” Medeiros said. “It’s steep and they told us it drops on both sides.”
- Another security guard, who grew worried when Medeiros didn’t surface, went to look for him.
- The guard found Medeiros leaning against a tree. He was alert but holding his chest.
- medical staff is also on the ranch when the Zuckerbergs are on the Garden Isle.
- Ben LaBolt, a spokesperson for the Zuckerberg’s family office, said the the on-site medic provided support and then “transported Mr. Medeiros, who was conscious and communicative, to the ambulance, which rushed Mr. Medeiros to Wilcox Hospital.”
- Medeiros died hours later.
- Ziba said, “When he had that heart attack, it ripped a hole in his heart so he was bleeding out,”
- Ziba didn’t find out her father died until the next day.
- A report from a cardiologist concluded “the physical stress of climbing the hill was a substantial factor that caused the acute event.”
- Attorneys Michael Green and Michael Stern are representing the Medeiros family in the civil lawsuit.
- “It didn’t need to happen,” Green said, adding his research showed the ranch could have upgraded the tires on the four wheelers for about $1,000 to allow them to be operable even in heavy rain.
- “Then (Medeiros) wouldn’t have had to walk.”
- A week after Medeiros died, a security manager for the Zuckerbergs met with his family — a meeting that the family recorded.
- “I talked to the owner,” the manager is heard saying on the recording.
- “I talked to both Mark and Priscilla after this happened.”
- Medeiros’ family never gave a number, thinking they couldn’t put a dollar sign on their grief.
- “There’s nothing that’s going to make it OK, There’s nothing that’s going to bring him back,” said Ziba Medeiros.
- But days later, someone made that decision for them.
- “They ended up giving us a check for $7,500.”
- Medeiros said they were shocked and at first, grateful.
- “We were like, oh wow, this is so nice of them,” she said.
- But that changed over the next few weeks after Medeiros said she thought more about the amount of money from the billionaires.
“It’s $7,500 for our father’s life. Is this supposed to make it OK?” she said.
- What made Medeiros even more upset was that the security manager had told them Koolau Ranch frequently has transportation issues during heavy rains.
- “I know it’s happened on previous visits, the guards have to walk up,” he is heard saying on the recording.
And about the $7,500 check: LaBolt said that was a contribution “given by Mark and Priscilla” and was meant “to help with burial and funeral expenses.”
Medeiros, 70, was a retired sugar cane worker.
When the Zuckerbergs were visiting Kauai, he was hired as a part-time, seasonal security guard.
- The Indepenent reports,
- “It’s a cliff,” Ms Medeiros told the news outlet, highlighting how she’d been told that “it drops on both sides.”
- For the security guard’s daughter, she wouldn’t find out about her father’s untimely passing until the next day.
Thank you local news in Kauia for reporting!
According to The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — A wrongful death lawsuit, stemming from an incident involving the Mark Zuckerberg compound in Moloa‘a, is set to go to trial in June 2024.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/08/19/kauai-family-sues-company-owned-by-mark-
zuckerberg-over-security-guards-death/
https://bigislandnow.com/2023/02/01/trial-date-set-for-lawsuit-following-zuckerberg-security-guard-death-on-kauai/