KAILUA-KONA >> An accident involving a bus carrying 40 passengers and a tractor-trailer truck carrying a 54-ton D-9 bulldozer happened at the narrowest spot on a North Kona highway Thursday, said police Capt. John Dawrs. Vehicles avert tragedy
in N. Kona accidentOnly 3 minor injuries result
from a crash at a narrow stretchBy Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comDespite the potential for tragedy, the worst that happened was that an 8-inch rock flew through the front window of the Hawaii County "Hele-On" bus, causing three minor injuries.
The accident was reported at 7:21 a.m. on the Mamalahoa Highway about 12 miles north of Kailua-Kona, said the Fire Department, which sent medical personnel to the scene.
Driver Dennis Lee, 46, and two schoolchildren -- a girl, 16, and a boy, 11 -- received only minor injuries, the Fire Department said.
Dawrs said the site, where the narrow highway cuts straight through dry ranch land, was at the top of a small hill. A cut had been made through the hill, leaving 15-foot or higher lava rock embankments immediately next to the right of way, he said.
Neither the driver of the bus heading toward Waimea nor the driver of the truck with the D-9 heading toward Kailua-Kona could see the other as they approached the cut in the hill, but an escort vehicle driving ahead of the bulldozer saw trouble coming and signaled the bus to stop, Dawrs said.
Police officer Russ Paio said the bus had stopped or nearly stopped when the truck and bulldozer came through the gap.
The speed limit at the spot is 55 mph, but even traveling below the speed limit, the truck would have a hard time stopping, Dawrs said.
To avoid hitting the bus, the truck driver swerved away, knocking the bulldozer blade against a wall of lava rock, Dawrs said.
"The blade hits just like a baseball bat hitting a ball," Dawrs said.
A rock flew over the truck and through the windshield of the bus, then smashed through a metal plate separating the knees of the students in the front seat from the bus stairwell.
Police will continue to investigate whether any negligence was involved, Dawrs said.
County of Hawaii
