MOANALUA — A city bus parked on a hill rolled backward yesterday, fatally crushing a bus mechanic, traveling through a busy intersection and smashing a rock wall before stopping just short of a house.

The victim, a 59-year-old man, was one of two O'ahu Transit Services mechanics who had been working on the Route 32 Tripler line city bus, which had been taken out of service because of a mechanical problem.

The 4:57 p.m. accident happened at the intersection of Ala Mahamoe and Jarrett White Road, which leads to Tripler Army Medical Center.

"I'm extremely surprised no one else got hurt, because it's a busy intersection," said Ronessa Barrett, 24, who lives at a corner of the intersection, at 1994 Ala Mahamoe.

Three people were inside the house whose yard the bus ended up in. The bus came to rest about 10 steps short of the house.

Roger Morton, president of O'ahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus, said the bus had been parked in front of Barrett's driveway, facing uphill with the mechanics' truck parked directly behind it.

Barrett said she arrived home about 4:30 p.m. and saw one of the mechanics in back of the bus working on the engine. Shortly before 5 p.m., Barrett heard a noise.

A few seconds later, she heard a louder sound and went to the window to check, she said. The bus that had been in front of her house was now across the intersection, its back end near the roof-line of a house. The mechanics' truck was on Jarrett White Road facing Tripler.

"I saw something under the front tire, I thought it can't be a person," Barrett said. "I saw someone coming from the house where the bus was and he showed the other mechanic something and went over by the front wheel of the bus. The mechanic who was standing near the bus was on the phone, kind of freaking out."

Dr. Gerardo Galang was driving to Tripler's Center for Aging when he came upon the accident scene. Galang made a U-turn on Jarrett White Road, parked his car and showed his credentials to someone before trying to assist the injured man.

"I felt for a pulse but he wasn't alive," Galang said.

Galang tried to revive the victim. Some military personnel also stopped to assist.

In addition to the police vehicular homicide investigation, OTS will be conducting its own internal probe, Morton said.

"Our hearts go out to our employees' families," Morton said He said he was thankful that no one else was injured.

Bertha Tottori, an Ala Mahamoe resident, said it appears a small stone wall about 15 inches high and a second stone wall inside the yard probably stopped the bus from crashing into the house.

Eva Ursolum had gone to Waipahu to drop off her daughter and was returning home when she noticed the bus in front of her house.

"We're so lucky nobody got hurt," Ursolum said, adding that her mother, son and nephew were in the house when the accident occurred. "Maybe three feet, 10 steps and it would have gone inside."

Police closed the intersection of Ala Mahamoe and Jarrett White Road shortly before 5 p.m. for several hours.

It was the third fatal accident involving a city bus this year.

On April 5, an 83-year-old man crossing the street in a crosswalk was hit by a bus after it turned left onto Kamehameha IV Road from North School Street.

William Chock See Jr. hit his head on the pavement and was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where he died that evening.

On March 10, a bicyclist was killed in a collision with a city bus on Kalaniana'ole Highway near 'Aina Haina.

Police said Jichao Wang, 75, was crossing Kalaniana'ole outside a marked crosswalk near West Hind Drive and that the accident occurred under overcast skies.

Wang died at The Queen's Medical Center.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.