Associated Press
BELLEVUE — A 23-year-old man surrendered to the State Patrol and admitted yelling a bomb threat at a Metro bus driver, a patrol spokeswoman said Tuesday. The hoax closed the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge for three hours and snarled rush-hour traffic.
The man, from Redmond, was not immediately identified. He could face a felony charge.
Three young men in a Dodge Dakota pickup truck chased down an eastbound bus about 5:30 p.m. Monday and yelled at the driver four times, "There’s a bomb on the bus," King County Metro transit spokesman Frank Abe said. The others also may face charges.
The bus driver stopped his bus at an old toll plaza area near the east end of the bridge and evacuated the 30 to 35 passengers. The driver also noted the license number of the pickup.
Traffic across the bridge, which carries Washington 520 across Lake Washington, was blocked for three hours Monday evening in both directions until a bomb squad gave the all-clear. Hundreds of motorists were stalled.
The King County prosecutor’s office said a felony charge of threatening a bombing carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The standard sentence is three to nine months.
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