LAUPAHOEHOE, HI – 22 people were taken to the hospital following a bus crash along Mamalahoa Highway in Laupahoehoe early Tuesday morning, reports KITV.
Police said a County of Hawaii Hele-On bus went through a guardrail shortly before 5 a.m. and down an embankment on the ocean side of the highway, ending up on the passenger side. An investigation by the Hawaii Island Police Department determined that the bus had stopped at the Laupahoehoe Scenic Lookout to pick up passengers.
The driver told police he placed the bus in park and walked toward the back of it to check for available seats when the bus began rolling backwards and through the guardrail.
22 passengers were transported to the Hilo Benioff Medical Center for evaluation. The driver, a 66-year-old Hilo man, was not injured.
Police are continuing to investigate the accident, which shut down the highway for several hours as first responders assisted passengers at the scene.
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