A Greyhound bus heading from Los Angeles, California to Dallas, Texas narrowly averted disaster when a passenger attacked the bus driver and the bus ran off of the road in western Arizona. In addition to the driver, the bus was carrying 41 passengers, and of those onboard 24 suffered injuries.
According to state police, the crash took place in the early hours of Thursday, January 23rd, and the incident began when a passenger onboard the bus attacked the driver According to passengers, the attacker was a young man who was apparently hallucinating and had expressed a desire to get off of the moving bus. When the bus driver refused to let him off, he began beating him.
As passengers jumped to pull the man off of the driver, the bus careened off of the highway and crossed into the median strip where it came to a stop before entering oncoming traffic. The bus did not overturn, and though 24 people sustained injuries and had to be taken to nearby hospitals, none of them were considered life threatening.
According to Harquahala Fire District Chief Dan Caudle, the bus driver “did a good job of maintaining control” of the vehicle, as the median strip is filled with rocks and bushes and could easily have flipped, causing many more injuries.
Those passengers who were not injured were picked up by a second Greyhound bus that took them to Phoenix, where they could continue on to their chosen destinations. The injuries that were sustained by the 24 who were taken to the hospital included a broken sternum; some of the injuries were sustained during the struggle.
The passenger who was behind the ordeal was reportedly traveling with a female companion. When the bus crash took place both got off of the bus and ran away, but returned half an hour later, where the male, Maquel Donyel Morris, was arrested. The 25-year old native of Los Angeles was taken into custody, where he will likely be charged with endangerment, assault and aggravated assault.
Passengers on board the bus indicated that the ordeal was terrifying, but praised the bus driver and their fellow passengers for their quick-thinking actions.