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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Bus kills pedestrian in Kalihi


By Richard Ambo
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

A police officer diverts traffic off North School Street at Gulick Avenue after a 54-year-old woman was struck and killed in a crosswalk by the small school bus in the background.

RICHARD AMBO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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A 54-year-old woman was struck and killed in a Kalihi crosswalk by a Roberts Hawaii school bus yesterday morning and remained pinned under the bus for more than an hour after the collision.

The incident happened at 6:06 a.m. at North School Street and Gulick Avenue. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:20 a.m., said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Emergency Services Department.

The bus driver and an aide were on the way to their first pickup of the morning, of nine public school children with special needs, said Roberts Hawaii spokesman Wally Zimmermann. When the crash occurred, only the driver and the aide were on the bus, Zimmermann said.

Sandy Goya, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, confirmed that no students were on the bus at the time of the crash.

The driver was a 35-year-old Honolulu woman, police said. She has been with Roberts for two years and had a clean record, Zimmermann said. Following standard company procedure, Roberts officials administered an alcohol test to the driver after the crash, which was negative, Zimmermann said.

The bus was traveling north of Gulick Avenue and turning left onto School Street on a green light, police said. The pedestrian, whose name was not immediately disclosed, was crossing School Street in the makai direction. Police said she was in a crosswalk but said they did not know what the pedestrian traffic signal was at the time.

The woman suffered head injuries, police said.