Honolulu woman dies
after falling beneath bus

A 69-year-old Honolulu woman died yesterday after she fell under the rear wheel of a city bus that had been pulling away from a stop outside Foodland on South Beretania Street.

Police said the woman, who used a cane, apparently stumbled while trying to get the driver's attention.

"She was running alongside (the bus) ... tapping on the side of the bus, as if attempting to get the operator's attention," said Sgt. Alan Vegas, of the police traffic division.

He said the woman fell off the sidewalk and under the bus' right rear tires.

The woman was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition about noon.

She was pronounced dead at 12:46 p.m.

The 56-year-old bus driver, of Ewa Beach, was put on administrative leave with pay, as is procedure in accident cases, said Ken Hong, vice president of transportation for Oahu Transit Services.

There were four people on the bus when the accident happened, none of whom were injured.

Hong could not say whether the bus driver saw the woman. But he said it's unlikely because the driver's attention would have been on getting back over into traffic.

Two lanes of Beretania Street were closed for a little more than two hours while police investigated the accident.