Rebecca Rans, inset, over a photo of a person with a face covering visiting a residential area devastated by a recent wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong/Rans’ photo courtesy of her sister Kathleen Hennricks)
The father of a woman who died in last month’s deadly inferno in Hawaii has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging gross negligence led to her tragic and sudden death when she tried to escape the fires that killed more than 100 people and left hundreds more unaccounted for.
The father of 57-year-old Rebecca Rans filed the complaint Tuesday in the Second Circuit Court of Hawaii. It alleges Maui County, the state of Hawaii, the electric utility and a large landowner caused the fire that led to Rans’ death.
“We are absolutely devastated,” said the victim’s sister, Kathleen Hennricks, in a news conference. “And this is something that, in the beginning, we were wanting to find her, searching for her, hoping and praying that she was OK—then, finding out that she passed. And that has developed into frustration and anger over feeling like this is something that could have been avoided. This is something that my sister would want. This is something that she would do for any of us. And so, you know, we’re here to get answers.”
