Police continue to seek the driver of a vehicle that forced a tour van to swerve into three Japanese tourists on Monday in Waikiki.

One of the tourists, a 23year-old woman, was discharged from The Queen's Medical Center yesterday and boarded a plane for her home in Osaka, Japan, said Jessica Lani Rich, president of the Visitor Aloha Society, which assists visitors in need.

A second visitor, a 40-year-old woman, remained at Queen's yesterday, Rich said. "She's conscious and we're pleased she is improving," Rich said.

The woman's 47-year-old boyfriend also remains in the hospital.

Their conditions were not available.

The pair also is from Osaka, although the younger woman was not traveling with them.

Monday's accident occurred when a car traveling in the lane next to a tour van tried to force its way in front of the van, causing the larger vehicle to swerve. The car then sped off after the crash, police said.

Sgt. Alan Vegas, of Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division, said there were no eyewitness descriptions of the car or its license plate. No arrests have been made and there are no suspects, he said.

The visitors were sitting on a 2-foot stucco wall in front of the Hyatt Regency Hotel at 9:35 a.m. when a 24-passenger Reliable Shuttle van jumped the curb, swerved a few feet onto the sidewalk and slammed into them.

Vegas said the 42-year-old driver of the Reliable Shuttle vehicle was "sober and coherent" at the scene, and speed did not appear to be a factor.

Reliable Shuttle officials declined comment yesterday.

The 40-year-old woman was dragged between the van and the curb for about six or seven feet, while the man flew about 10 to 15 feet in the air, witnesses said. The younger woman was knocked down.

"Our thoughts go out to the victims of the accident," state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert said. "The safety of them is utmost."

She maintained, though, that such accidents are too infrequent to warrant additional safety measures along Kalakaua Avenue and said she didn't want to "overreact to an isolated situation."

Wienert said recent boardwalk and park improvements in Waikiki would be marred by a barrier or rail along the roadway.

"The nice thing about Waikiki is being able to easily travel from one part to the other," she said. "It's an ambience that is very open and nice to our visitors."

Frank Haas, director of tourism marketing with the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, agreed.

"We're always concerned with safety and security of visitors," Haas said. "Unfortunately, you're never going to be 100 percent safe. I think (a traffic accident in Waikiki) is less of an issue than one that might have involved security or robbery.

"It's still a very regrettable incident," he said.

On May 26 last year, a Japanese tourist, Hikari Ishiyama, 24, was killed when a man lost control of his vehicle on Kalakaua, crossed four lanes of traffic and went onto the makai sidewalk, where the pickup truck hit pedestrians, brochure stands, and a fire hydrant.

In that accident, Joseph Puuohau Jr., 62, of Palolo Valley, may have blacked out at the wheel because of a heart condition.

He was not charged with negligent homicide because of his condition, said a spokesman with the Honolulu prosecutor's office. He pleaded no contest to driving with a revoked license and will be sentenced Aug. 24.