Shortly after a load of visitors exited a tour company van at the edge of the scenic drive overlook at Onomea Bay in Papaikou, the vehicle rolled off the edge of the cliff and plummeted into the bay.
No one was injured, according to police at the scene Tuesday morning. One officer said that the driver of the van, operated by KapohoKine Adventures, believed that the van’s parking brake was engaged, but reported hearing a loud noise after stepping outside.
The van then began rolling down an embankment and across the steep, paved walkway leading down to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, before knocking over a sign and then crashing about 130 feet into the rocks and heavy surf below.
Clay Mendoza was fishing at the bay when he heard the van crash, landing upside down on large boulders in rough, shallow waters.
“I heard it go ‘boom,’ a big crashing sound, and I said, ‘Wow!’” Mendoza said. “Luckily, no one was in (the van). I thought for a minute I was going to have to swim over there and look for them.”
The accident occurred around 8:30 a.m. as one tour guide and a five-person tour group visited the scenic overlook.
The group was about 20 feet up the hill from the van at the lookout when the vehicle, with engine still running, rolled off the cliff bank, according to news release from KapohoKine.
“The 2006 Ford E350, 3-passenger van was in park with engine on and emergency brake engaged,” the release states. “The ocean area where the van fell into is inaccessible to people due to the rocky cliffs and rough waters.”
The popular Hilo-based tour company — which has operated for 10 years, offering small guided tours and hikes in Kona, Hilo and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park — says that a safety consultant is currently looking into how to extract the van.
“We are thankful that no one was hurt,” said KapohoKine Adventures co-owner Tony DeLellis. “We have never had an accident with our tour vans and will conduct a thorough investigation into this isolated incident.”
A substitute van was delivered to the group, which wanted to continue its tour, the release said.
Employees at the nearby botanical garden said they were concerned about the impact of the vehicle’s oil and gasoline on the conservation area.
“It has a full tank of gas,” said employee Sean Callahan. “You can see the rainbows around it in the water.”
All things considered, however, the event was a lucky one, added co-worker Ryan Medeiros.
“It’s great that nobody got hurt. Things could be a lot worse. It’s a great day,” he said.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
