When Stefan Lewis hurried to help at a car crash Saturday night in Waimea, he set his backpack down.
And while he was doing all he could to free one of the victims of the accident, someone stole it.
“Really? Someone took my bag while I was trying to help someone? Everyone knew it was my bag,” Lewis said. “How do you steal from a man who’s up there trying to help someone hurt in a crash?”
While it was disappointing to lose a wetsuit and collector book in the backpack, that wasn’t what most upset Lewis. He was also carrying the ashes of his father and his grandmother.
“It’s not just a wetsuit and book,” he said. “My family is in there.”
The backpack, he can live without. But he would like the plastic baggies with ashes, labeled “Dad,” and “Grandmother,” back.
“I’ve been taking them everywhere with me,” he said.
Lewis, originally from Houston, said he has traveled the world, visiting South America, Central America, Mexico, Europe and nearly every state in the U.S. On his journeys, he has sprinkled ashes of his father, Owen Lewis, who died in 2004, at places he felt were special and hoped to do the same with them on Kauai.
The surfer and former BMX racer has been on Kauai about four months.
Saturday, he biked from Anahola to Waimea and after spending some of the day there, he was ready to catch a bus back to the North Shore when the accident occurred.
A van traveling east lost control, crossed the westbound lanes, jumped the curb and hit two parked pickups across from Big Save.
Lewis, who has EMT training, ran to the scene and dropped his pack.
A man in the van was bleeding and showing signs of trauma, Lewis said. The van was smoking and fluids were leaking out.
“This could be a bad situation,” he said he thought at the time.
A crowd quickly formed and many were recording the scene with their smart phones.
Lewis wedged the van door open and held it. Firefighters and EMTs had arrived, too, so Lewis, after seeing if there was anything more he could do, turned to retrieve his backpack. It was gone.
After asking around and walking around town, he gave up his search.
Whoever took the backpack must have been surprised when they looked inside.
“I can only imagine what someone thought when they found somebody’s ashes in the backpack,” the 30-year-old said. “What would you do if you see a baggie that says ‘Dad’ and one that says ‘Grandmother?’”
He said he was 18 years old when his father died, and he’s had difficulty coping with his death. Spreading ashes in his travels has helped. His mother recently sent him some of his grandmother’s ashes because Kauai seemed a great place to sprinkle them, along with his father’s.
“I was planning to do it when the time and place were right,” he said.
Lewis was angry about the theft at first. Then, he decided to find the positive in it. His father, he said, and his grandmother, Billie Weber, always taught him to impact others for the better.
He said he enjoys meeting and speaking with people and helping them make it through their day by spreading smiles. His mantra is healthy living, caring and compassion — every day, no matter what.
“You can’t take my happiness or my smile,” Lewis said. “It’s not about what’s in your pocket, it’s what’s in your heart that matters.”
Info: stefanlewisybb@gmail.com
