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In Wake Of NY Teen's Death, Hawaii Tour Company May Have Permit Revoked

HONOLULU (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources could revoke a permit for the kayak tour company that led a group of teens when one from White Plains was swept out to sea.

The board on Friday will take up the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' recommendation to revoke Hawaii Pack and Paddle's permit to lead tours at the Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park.

The department says the company's permit should be revoked for three violations on July 4. That's the day 15-year-old Tyler Madoff was swept off the west coast of the Big Island.

Madoff's family filed a lawsuit claiming tour guides were negligent by making a series of fatal decisions, including allegedly taking teens to a restricted area of coastline that broke the itinerary while ignoring high-surf advisories.

"To lead 12 teenagers to a treacherous, dangerous area where they should never have been cost Tyler his life," The Madoff family's attorney Susan Karten said in a news conference last month.

"We don't want this to happen to other people," said Tyler's mother Marianne Madoff.

The tour company has said Tyler's death was a freak accident.

The violations include conducting a tour with one too many passengers and deviating from authorized areas.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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