Inset: Trisha Almazan and Michelle Katrina Noelani Comer (GoFundMe). Background: The fallen banyan tree that killed Trisha Almazan and Michelle Katrina Noelani Comer (KITV).
The families of two Hawaii women killed when a massive banyan tree fell on top of them are headed for a jury trial after suing the state, county and several companies for negligence — claiming they failed to properly inspect and maintain the state-owned tree.
The sister of 35-year-old Trisha Jaye Almazan, one of the two women killed, says her family spent days pleading with police to search for her and her partner, Michelle Katrina Noelani Comer, 48, underneath the fallen banyan tree as a "foul smell" emanated from it. But authorities allegedly refused.
"Not long after the falling of the tree my other sister Jessica reached out saying that the two had not been located and a missing person report was made," says Almazan's sister, Savana Moore, in a GoFundMe description. "She was insistent that they check the tree but unfortunately at the time police said there was nothing they could do because it was private property and would not conduct a search at the tree even though a foul smell came from it."
According to the GoFundMe, "days went on" and there was still no help from local cops. "My sister and family decided take matters into their own hands feeling in their hearts that Trisha and Michelle were under this tree and on Sunday July 20 my sister found a body and called authorities," Moore says.
Almazan and Comer were beneath the banyan tree in a state-owned parking lot near Wailoa Pond in Hilo when it uprooted and collapsed on July 12, 2025, according to police. Their bodies were not found until eight days later.
"Finally they [Almazan's family] got the police to investigate and discovered the remains of both Michelle and Trisha," the GoFundMe says. "We are very hurt that it took so long to get the help we needed to find them."
A jury trial in the wrongful death lawsuit brought on behalf of the women's families was set for September 2027 last week, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. An amended complaint — filed in late July by the Honolulu law firm Leavitt, Yamane & Soldner and obtained by the Star-Advertiser — names the state, county, Hawaii Electric, Hawaiian Telcom, Imua Landscaping and Tree Works as defendants.
The women's deaths were ruled accidental. Autopsies conducted July 22, 2025, determined both died from mechanical asphyxiation, meaning an external force or object prevented them from breathing by obstructing their airways or restricting chest movement.
The lawsuit filed by their families alleges that the defendants were negligent and grossly negligent in their handling of the banyan tree. It argues that their failure to properly care for it amounted to "a reflection of callous disregard and/or callous indifference to the rights and safety of others."
According to the complaint, the tree was "owned by the state in the unencumbered state land," adjacent to Wailoa River State Recreation Area, and the defendants shared responsibility for its inspection, trimming and maintenance. The families allege the parties failed to adequately inspect the recreation area and surrounding property, maintain the tree in a safe condition or warn the public about potential hazards.
The complaint specifically points to the tree's reach over nearby utility lines and the roadway, according to the Star-Advertiser.
"The subject banyan's canopy extended over the adjacent utility lines and more than halfway across Kilauea Avenue," the filing states, alleging the tree "presented a potential hazard to the public … as a result of the defendants' failure to maintain it in a reasonably safe condition."
The lawsuit also cites a joint-pole agreement involving the county, Hawaiian Electric and Hawaiian Telcom. Under the alleged agreement, the entities shared responsibility for maintaining utility poles and performing routine tree trimming to keep their lines clear, in accordance with Public Utilities Commission safety standards and other applicable regulations.
The families are seeking damages for the victims' alleged suffering before their deaths, as well as the emotional harm caused by their loss.
Comer and Almazan endured "extreme pain, suffering, anguish, fear of impending death, anxiety, emotional distress and conscious pain and suffering" before they died, according to the complaint.
Their relatives, meanwhile, continue to experience "serious emotional distress and mental anguish, grief, sorrow" over the loss of the women's "love, companionship, counsel, affection, society, and comfort," the complaint says.
The tree's collapse caused extensive damage to a building owned by Kamehameha Schools and leased by Calvary Chapel Hilo. The church did not return to the property and it remains closed.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources previously told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that Kamehameha Schools shared responsibility for the fallen tree. The banyan had been designated an exceptional tree by the county in 1999. Kamehameha Schools, however, is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Several defendants have filed cross-claims against one another. A formal settlement conference is scheduled for July 2027, ahead of the September 2027 jury trial.