Driver OK after pickup jumps H-1 guardrail

A pickup truck traveling east on H-1 freeway crashed over a freeway guardrail and slid 10 to 12 feet down an embankment before crashing into trees near the back of a strip mall building in Wai­malu on Thursday morning.

Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said the driver of the truck was able to climb back onto the freeway after the crash and did not appear to be seriously injured. The man was sent to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, an official with the city Department of Emergency Medical Services said.

But Honolulu-bound traffic slowed to a crawl through H-1’s Pearl City corridor. The two right lanes and shoulder of H-1 eastbound between the Kaahumanu Street overpass and Kaa­hele Street underpass were closed for about three hours as a work crew took steps to retrieve the truck.

Seelig said the Ford F-250 pickup apparently crashed over a freeway guardrail and slid 10-12 feet down the embankment near the Kaa­hele Street underpass.

After Honolulu police closed the two Hono­lulu-bound right lanes and the shoulder lane, traffic was backed up beyond the Kaahumanu Street overpass.

The truck was towing an excavator. The trailer and excavator tipped over and remained on the freeway until they were removed, Seelig said.

Trees stopped the truck from continuing down the embankment behind a Wai­malu strip mall, Seelig said. The mall includes a Grace’s Inn, Dave’s Ice Cream and Pizza Hut. The truck stopped about 50 feet from a flat area between the sloping embankment and a warehouse.