An Illinois woman was killed and 10 others were injured when a shuttle bus driver mistook the gas for the brake and struck the group outside a Honolulu cruise ship terminal, Hawaii News Now reported.
Honolulu police said the incident happened in a private parking lot at around 10:20 a.m. on Friday. A 57-year-old shuttle bus driver was dropping people off and picking others up at the terminal when he was notified that the vehicle was moving forward, Hawaii News Now reported. He jumped into the driver’s seat to stop it, but pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake.
As a result, several people were pinned against concrete barriers. A 68-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later died from injuries. The woman, who hasn't been identified, was from Illinois, as were four others who were seriously injured, according to the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii.
Those individuals were a 67-year-old man, a 67-year-old woman, a 55-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man.
Six other adults, ranging in age from their 40s to their 70s, suffered minor injures and declined transport.
Bystanders said the chaotic scene unfolded in seconds.
“It was shocking,” said witness Mike Frost.
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"It just kept going and and my daughter yells out, ‘There’s nobody driving the bus.’ And then poof, it hits the wall," recounted Linda Reck, a visitor from Florida.
The Illinois resident who died and her husband were in the middle of a 15-day journey onboard the Carnival Miracle, the cruise line said in a statement.
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