22°
Those were some of the last words spoken by New Jersey’s Matthew Preziose moments before being swept out to sea by the heavy currents on a beach in Hawaii last weekend — never to be seen again.
The irony of it all is that his boyfriend, Nick Slawinski, said he’d never seen Preziose, 25, of Middletown, happier than he was that week.
The couple chose Lumahai beach in Kauai to visit particularly because of its rave reviews both from tour guides and Google, 26-year-old Slawinski, of Riverside, said. Little did they know, the site is known as a dangerous beach among locals and commonly referred to as “Lumadie” for reasons Slawinski would tragically come to find out on Saturday, March 5.
The water was barely above Preziose’s ankles when a seemingly small wave came and threw him off balance, tossing him to the sand. Seconds later, another wave came and swept him into the water about 150 yards from the shoreline.
"It was as if a rope was tied around his body and yanked him into the ocean," Slawinski told Daily Voice.
Formerly a pool lifeguard, Slawinski instructed his boyfriend to swim sideways toward him before diving into the water himself, and charging through 15-foot waves in an attempt to save “the love of his life,” he said.
Preziose tried holding onto Slawinski’s shoulder so they could swim back to shore together, but Preziose’s panic exhausted him — leaving him with barely any strength to move.
When Slawinski heard a bystander on the shore yelling for him to “come back now,” he knew he had to, or he would risk going under as well.
Slawinski miraculously made it back to shore, where he immediately collapsed of exhaustion, but he was more worried about his self-proclaimed soulmate than himself.
“Everyone ran to me, gave me water, and asked how I was doing, but I needed them to forget about me and go find my boyfriend,” he said. “He’s more important.”
The US Coast Guard responded in an attempt to locate Preziose but the search for his body was suspended on Tuesday, March 8.
As Slawinski would soon come to find out for himself, drownings are the leading cause of death for visitors in Hawaii, according to the state department of health.
And they’re even worse on Lumahai beach, where locals hang signs warning tourists of danger. Some of them read: “No lifeguards.” “Giant waves.” “Riptides.” “Strong currents.”
But, Slawinksi says, those signs don’t typically last long, as elected officials take them down. Tourists can attest to the danger of Lumahai, and did so on a TripAdvisor thread.
"Keep in mind the western side has powerful currents, visibility is zero from the roadside if you hike down to the cove, no lifeguards, and not suitable for young children," one user wrote. "If you are not a powerful swimmer or seasoned surfer, stay on the Eastern side (Hanalei)."
Kauai has recorded 55 out-of-state visitor drownings between 2009 and 2018, according to state data last updated in November 2020. At least 15 more drownings occurred on the island in 2019, 12 of them being visitors, SF Gate reports citing Garden Island.
A map formulated by Teok Investigations — an independent Earth Science research, and educational organization — shows Lumahai beach as one of the deadliest beaches on Kauai, according to data from 1970 through 2012.
Preziose’s loved ones are calling on local officials to do something about the lack of warnings, in hopes of preventing further tragedy.
“The magnitude of this horrific thing, this unexplainable not-to-be understood phenomena is something that can be prevented,” Slawinski said on Facebook.
A Change.org petition has been created to demand warning signs on the beach. It had received more than 2,200 signatures as of Friday, March 11. A Spotfund to help Preziose's loved ones with additional expenses was also launched and had raised upward of $32,000 as of Friday.
Preziose, originally of Brooklyn, NY, worked as a freelance photographer and graphic designer in the NYC and NJ area, and has collaborated with brands such as Therabody and Equinox, Slawinski said.
Slawinski wants the world to know how much of a difference his boyfriend made in the lives of those around him and how much he had yet to accomplish.
"We had goals, we had plans that were larger than life,” he said. “Not for nothing, he already lived a thousand lives in those 25 years. He had so many more to live and change.”
The year and a half that the couple spent together after meeting on social media was fate, Slawinski added.
“He was my soulmate. He completely renovated my whole life and created the book of happiness for me,” he said."We were each other's quarantine dreams."
Despite Preziose’s last moments, Slawinski aspires to make his boyfriend proud and to keep his memory alive.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights and receive free news updates.
