"My husband sat with her for a while when they (emergency services) were trying to bring her back and I was just on the road trying to slow traffic down.
"We hadn't known her for long but she was lovely as a neighbour, we would talk over the fence and that sort of thing.
"It's tragic and sad and upsetting."
Owhata Wholesale Liquor manager Aman Negi said the scene was "chaotic".
"They closed it all up, they were trying to revive her. I heard from one of my regulars that she had run out to save her dog. They put a cloth over her body, there was definitely a very eerie feeling.
"She lived nearby ... She used to come in once in a while so I knew who she was.
"She was a pretty good lady, she was always out walking with her dog. She always had the dog with her," he said.
A woman who was at a house on Te Ngae Rd, who didn't want to be named, said she and others went outside when they realised there had been an accident.
"I saw a bus full of people, a lot of children on board and then saw her lying there on the street.
"It was an eerie feeling. I can't explain it to be honest. Just hurt and pain and sadness for her and her family, for the driver and the people in the bus."
A Rotorua Daily Post photographer at the scene on Saturday night said another bus arrived about 9pm to pick up the stranded passengers.
Bay of Plenty district command centre Senior Sergeant Steve Shaw said police could not provide any further information yesterday.
He said police did not want to give any details surrounding the woman's identity out of respect to her family but her name was expected to be released today.
A spokesman from Intercity said they could not comment yesterday as there was no manager available.
