A packed Greyhound bus traveling west along Interstate 10 on the afternoon of July 4, 2015, near the Waterman Avenue exit in San Bernardino, when a passenger allegedly wrested control of the steering wheel from the bus driver and jerked the wheel, causing the bus to veer off the highway and into the ditch below. The bus was traveling from Phoenix, Arizona en route to Los Angeles when the crash occurred. The man’s motive for interfering with the operation of the bus is not known.
Fellow passengers and other witnesses have stated that the bus was traveling an estimated 70 miles per hour when the unidentified man took control of the steering wheel, causing the bus driver to lose control of the vehicle. When the bus finally careened into the ditch, the person who caused the crash reportedly fled the scene of the accident through a broken bus window, running into a nearby strip mall parking lot before falling to the ground. He was taken to an area hospital for treatment of lacerations on his arm and an undisclosed lower back injury. Officials from the California Highway Patrol have stated that the man may well face criminal charges once he recovers from his wounds.
The person who wrenched the steering wheel away from the bus driver is described as a male in his 20s, wearing a hospital identification bracelet at the time he originally boarded the bus. Other passengers stated that the man had words with the driver prior to the beginning of the trip indicating that he was feeling poorly due to his recent hospitalization.
No one on board the bus at the time of the incident could say why the altercation between the man and the bus driver ensued, but witnesses did report that the driver and the wheel-grabber struggled and wrestled over the steering wheel for a short while before the crash. One passenger praised the bus driver for taking active steps to keep the bus from rolling over during the crash. Five injuries were reported following the accident, with the victims being transported to local medical centers for treatment and expected to survive. The remaining 15 passengers were taken to a nearby Greyhound station where another bus came to transport them for the remaining leg of their journey to Los Angeles.