Four people in a church van were injured yesterday when the driver fell asleep at the wheel, causing the vehicle to go off the road, police and emergency medical officials said. The van then hit a sign, an electricity pole and a cement bridge, police said.

Six passengers — all of whom were asleep — were in the van at the time of the wreck, according to church officials.

The 23-year-old driver, a 37-year-old woman, a 17-year-old boy and a 57-year-old man all were taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, according to the city Department of Emergency Services.

Two others were taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

The wreck occurred at 11:38 a.m. yesterday on Farrington Highway near Mokuola Street in Waipahu.

The van was carrying members of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Assembly of God in Waipahu.

Church pastor Joe Hunkin said the driver had just finished an overnight shift at another job before getting in the van. Church officials told the man they could get someone else to drive but he declined, insisting he was fine, Hunkin said.

"He tried to go beyond what he can do. He is a dedicated guy to the ministry," said Hunkin, speaking by phone from Queen's yesterday. "I took a look at the bus (after the accident). It is a miracle (no one was killed), surely a miracle."

The church employs eight drivers to staff a fleet of several vans, he said.

The van had just come from the airport, where it had dropped off other members of the congregation traveling to Hilo.

No other vehicles were involved, and no one else was injured.

A Hawaiian Electric Co. official said the damage to the pole did not cause an outage because the 12,000-volt line on the pole had been de-energized for maintenance.

Police and emergency officials said speed and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the wreck.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.