At least 6 killed in Greyhound crash after passenger attacks driver

By Russ Oates

Associated Press

MANCHESTER, Tenn. – A passenger on a Greyhound bus cut the driver’s throat Wednesday, causing a crash that killed at least six of the 40 people aboard and prompted Greyhound to temporarily halt service nationwide. The driver told authorities the attacker used a box cutter.

The driver was treated for a cut to his neck and was stable after surgery, a hospital official said. The attacker, who had a Croatian passport, was killed, the FBI said.

“He just went up to the bus driver and, like, slit his throat, and the driver turned the wheel and the bus tipped over,” passenger Carly Rinearson told Nashville TV station WTVF by cell phone from the crash site.

The crash happened on Interstate 24 near Manchester, 50 miles southeast of Nashville. The bus originated in Chicago with a final destination of Orlando, Fla., Greyhound spokesman Mike Lake said.

There were conflicting reports about how many people had died. In a statement, Lynn Brown, Greyhound’s vice president for corporate communications, said police had confirmed 10 fatalities.

But Dana Keeton, a Tennessee Department of Safety spokeswoman, said six were confirmed dead at the scene, and the 34 other people on board were injured. She said the injured were taken to at least six hospitals. Hospital officials described the injuries as ranging from bumps and bruises to some that required emergency surgery.

After the 5:15 a.m. EDT crash, Greyhound pulled 1,900 buses off the nation’s highways, but after consulting with federal and state investigators and transportation officials, the company decided it was safe to resume service as of 1 p.m. EDT.

“These officials have told us they believe that this morning’s accident in Tennessee was as the result of a single deranged individual,” Greyhound said in a statement.

Earlier, U.S. Justice Department officials said they did not believe the attack was terrorist-related, but that the investigation was continuing.

Coffee County Medical Examiner Dr. Al Brandon said the driver told him the attacker had boarded the bus in Kentucky. He said the man, who had been polite and spoke with a foreign accent, got up several times to ask him where the bus was headed, Brandon said.

The driver, whose name was not immediately released, told Brandon the passenger then “accosted” him with a box cutter.

However, Brandon said he couldn’t confirm the weapon was a box cutter, saying it was a “sharp instrument similar to a razor blade.” The terrorists who hijacked four airliners on Sept. 11 reportedly used box cutters in their suicide attacks.

After attacking the driver, the passenger grabbed the steering wheel, forcing the bus into the oncoming lanes of the interstate before it crossed the road and tipped over onto its right side, the medical examiner said.

The driver was able to crawl from the wreckage through a window and tried to flag down passing vehicles. He told Brandon the attacker was thrown through the windshield.

The bus, No. 1115, left Louisville, Ky., and was due to stop next in Atlanta, Greyhound spokeswoman Karen Chapman said.

Rinearson told WTVF the attacker, who appeared to be 30 to 35 years old, kept approaching her front seat and asking what time it was. She said the man then asked if he could have her seat, and she refused.

He then attacked the driver, she said.

Dallas-based Greyhound stopped all service as a precaution after the crash, spokeswoman Kristin Parsley said. About 1,900 of its 2,300 buses had been on the road when the crash occurred, she said.

She said buses already en route were allowed to continue to their destinations.

Passengers across the country, already jittery after last month’s terror attacks, had to wait hours or find other means of transportation.

“People are a little panicky about it,” said Joi Smith, a Greyhound agent in New Hampshire. “They are freaked out, which is understandable.”

Greyhound had begun boosting security in many terminals around the nation, said Tim Barham, district manager of driver operations in Washington, D.C.

“Ever since the September 11 events we’ve had several discussions and started to implement extra security,” he said.

Greyhound has set up a toll-free phone number for relatives seeking information about passengers 800-884-2744.

On the Net:

http://www.greyhound.com/