‘I knew it wasn’t something good’

LIHU‘E — Thirty minutes after finishing his first Boston Marathon, Kaua‘i resident Will Summerhays — exhausted but victorious — sat in a family waiting area one block from the finish line.

“I was sitting, waiting for my wife to come, when I heard the explosion. … I knew it wasn’t something good,” said the 40 year old.

Fifteen seconds later, a second blast rattled the area.

Initially, Summerhays did not know the origin of the explosions.

“We were all looking in the air,” he said.

The two bombs killed three people Monday and wounded more than 170.

Following the second blast, Summerhays immediately grabbed his phone and tried to call his wife Karen. Her phone had run out of battery after a long day of shooting video along Boylston Street.

A few minutes later, the Po‘ipu resident was able to reach his brother Bryan, who informed him that everyone in their party was safe.

Summerhays said he was overcome with relief after embracing his wife, only a few minutes after the initial explosion.

“We feel very, very lucky and fortunate,” he said over the phone Tuesday, after returning safely to Kaua‘i.

Summerhays said his wife, brother and sister-in-law had spent the day watching the marathon within 30 feet of where the second bomb was detonated.

Once he crossed the finish line, his family began walking east on Boylston Street, directly past the area of the initial blast.

“They had just walked by (the site) about 15 minutes prior to the explosion,” said Summerhays, adding that his wife had even stopped to take photos of the national flags lining the street.

“(Karen) was really shaken up,” he said.

Despite poor cell phone service throughout the city, the Summerhays’ managed to reach their oldest daughter, who heard about the explosion while at school on Kaua‘i.

Ten minutes after the bombings, Summerhays and his family saw paramedics rushing a man in a wheelchair away from the scene. The man’s leg was bloody and wrapped with a makeshift bandage.

“That’s when we knew people were hurt and something really bad had happened,” he said.

Although never in direct sight of the mayhem, Summerhays described the scene that unfolded Monday as “terrifying” but “amazing.” Within minutes of the explosions, a flood of police officers, paramedics and citizens began running toward the area, with no thought for their own safety, he said.

“You can’t even imagine how many first responders … people rising up in such a horrible event.”  

The family eventually made arrangements for a driver to pick them up several blocks away from the scene. While waiting, Summerhays and his family watched a bomb squad search through nearby trash cans for additional explosives.

The Summerhays’ made it back to their hotel around 7:30 p.m., four hours after the bombings. They returned home to Kaua‘i Monday.

No celebration has followed his successful marathon finish.

“When that happened, all of that didn’t matter anymore … our hearts are broken for those that were affected,” he said.

Originally from Herber City, Utah, Summerhays has lived on Kaua‘i for eight years and is the executive vice president of Layton Construction Company, in Lihu‘e. He and his wife Karen have four children: Whitney, Allison, Spencer and Lucas.

Summerhays fought back tears when talking about Martin Richard, an 8-year-old boy from Boston who was killed in Monday’s blasts.

“I’m a little emotional,” he said. “I have a 9-year-old son who I would have loved to have brought with me. … To have something like that happen, that’s where it kind of hits home.”

Despite this year’s tragic turn of events, Summerhays said he left Boston inspired by its people and expects there to be an outpouring of support for next year’s marathon.

“I believe everyone will rise above it,” he said. “It’s just terrible that things like this have to happen.”

He finished Monday’s 26.2-mile race in about 3 hours and 40 minutes, and has already qualified to run next year.

By attending, he hopes to send a strong message to those responsible for Monday’s attack — that they haven’t won a thing.

“I’m seriously considering going and perhaps bringing my family,” he said, “in honor of those that have been injured and passed away.”

• Chris D’Angelo, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or lifestyle@thegardenisland.com.