KEY POINTS:
A tour bus driver was reaching for a pen that had fallen onto the floor when he swerved off the road and injured 21 of his passengers.
Kiwi Experience driver Nathan Hyslop, 32, today admitted 10 charges of careless driving causing injury stemming from the crash in a rugged area of the South Island's West Coast in April.
The victims, many of whom were foreign tourists, suffered injuries ranging from a broken nose and a broken wrist, to fractures, dislocations, sprains and cuts.
The Christchurch District Court heard the pen had fallen from the bus dashboard and Mr Hyslop reached for it while negotiating a "severe" right-hand bend on a narrow and windy 15km stretch of road between Franz Josef and Fox Glacier.
"He leaned so far out of his seat that he lost his balance and fell from the seat," said prosecutor Nigel Wolland.
Forty-three passengers were on board when the coach went off the road and about 40m down bush-clad hillside before coming to rest.
Twenty-one passengers were treated for injuries from the crash, and 10 suffered "moderate" injuries.
Mr Hyslop was "visibly shaken" when spoken to after the crash and expressed his remorse, but told police he did not know why he had reached for the pen.
He refused to comment when approached by the Herald today.
Hyslop faces up to three years imprisonment, a $4500 fine and six months disqualification from driving when he is sentenced next year.
Victims of the crash are also seeking a total of $2802 in reparation for their financial losses.
Mr Hyslop's lawyer Pip Hall said the reparation could be paid before his client's sentencing.
