KEY POINTS:
A tour bus driver who crashed and injured 21 of his passengers while reaching for a pen has left the job of his own accord.
Kiwi Experience driver Nathan John Hyslop, 32, finished with the company a day before admitting 10 charges of careless driving causing injury in the crash on the South Island's West Coast in April.
Hyslop had reached down to pick up a pen that had dropped off his dashboard and pulled the steering wheel right, causing the coach to veer across the road and plunge down a steep bank.
The crash victims, many of whom were young North American or European backpackers, suffered injuries ranging from a broken nose and a broken wrist, to fractures, dislocations, sprains and cuts.
The Christchurch District Court heard yesterday that Hyslop, a driver for Kiwi Experience for about 3 1/2 years, left Franz Josef village about 7.45am on April 21 with 43 passengers on the 12m coach.
He was doing between 35km/h and 40km/h into a downhill S-bend, with a 35km/h advisory, when the pen fell from the dashboard.
Hyslop reached down for it while negotiating a "severe" right-hand bend.
"He leaned so far out of his seat that he lost his balance and fell from the seat," said police prosecutor Nigel Wolland.
The coach went off the road and about 40m down a bush-clad hillside before coming to rest. Twenty-one passengers were treated for injuries from the crash, and 10 suffered "moderate" injuries.
Hyslop was "visibly shaken" when spoken to after the crash and expressed his remorse, but could not explain why he had reached for the pen.
Kiwi Experience general manager Sue Sullivan told the Herald Hyslop was no longer employed by Kiwi Experience, having finished his time with the company on Tuesday.
He had not driven since the accident, doing office duties instead.
Hyslop refused to comment when approached by the Herald yesterday. He faces up to three years' imprisonment, a $4500 fine and six months' disqualification from driving when sentenced next year.
Victims of the crash are also seeking a total of $2802 in reparation for their financial losses.
