HIJACKED
Well, it finally happened. Some crazy guy hijacked a bus at the St Paul side of the 21 route. That layover spot is creepy as it is. He was the last one on the bus. The driver (she works out of the St Paul garage) was at the end and the guy walked up to her and put a white bandana around her neck and told her to drive. Luckily, she was able to push the silent alarm and also get a couple fingers under the bandana so she didn't choke. She drove until she saw the police behind her. She then told the hijacker that she had to use the bathroom and he said OK. She pulled the bus over and opened the door and the cops came on and arrested him.
Apparently, the hijacker didn't know that all the buses are equipped with global positioning. Even if the driver didn't get to the silent alarm, the control center would have seen her off course and the cops would have shown up. It just may have taken a little longer for them to realize the danger she was in. The buses also have microphones on them so the control center can listen on the bus and hear what is going on.
According to news reports, the hijacker was going nuts in his apartment not long before he went and took the bus. A neighbor said he was banging on walls and yelling at himself. Seems this guy needs some mental help.
I'm just glad the driver was ok and no one got hurt. Hopefully, both the driver and the hijacker get the help they need. Coincidentally, the driver is one of the people the company has as peer support personnel. I just hope she finds someone else to talk to about this scary situation so she can come back to work without the fear that this would happen to her again. In fact, this is the first hijacking anyone can remember happening. I think because of the global positioning, silent alarms and the fact that the transit company has its own police department that even the criminals know there are easier targets so they avoid taking buses. Not to mention the fact that the buses are technically government property and the drivers are government employees, so the penalties are probably much stiffer than to hijack someone else.
The scary thing is, I drive that route sometimes...It could have been ME!!
Apparently, the hijacker didn't know that all the buses are equipped with global positioning. Even if the driver didn't get to the silent alarm, the control center would have seen her off course and the cops would have shown up. It just may have taken a little longer for them to realize the danger she was in. The buses also have microphones on them so the control center can listen on the bus and hear what is going on.
According to news reports, the hijacker was going nuts in his apartment not long before he went and took the bus. A neighbor said he was banging on walls and yelling at himself. Seems this guy needs some mental help.
I'm just glad the driver was ok and no one got hurt. Hopefully, both the driver and the hijacker get the help they need. Coincidentally, the driver is one of the people the company has as peer support personnel. I just hope she finds someone else to talk to about this scary situation so she can come back to work without the fear that this would happen to her again. In fact, this is the first hijacking anyone can remember happening. I think because of the global positioning, silent alarms and the fact that the transit company has its own police department that even the criminals know there are easier targets so they avoid taking buses. Not to mention the fact that the buses are technically government property and the drivers are government employees, so the penalties are probably much stiffer than to hijack someone else.
The scary thing is, I drive that route sometimes...It could have been ME!!
posted by Jeanne Ree at 10:55 AM
7 Comments:
Nah, it wouldn't have been you...you'd have kicked his *ss!
What a terrible thing to happen, I'm glad that everyone got away alive.
Elianara - the driver was the only one on the bus with him. He had stayed on the bus to the very end of the route and confronted the driver at the layover spot. Yes, she was lucky he was so dumb!
Anonymous - Do you know me???
I,m so glad you know what you would do or what she should of done, well see what a hard ass you are when it,s you,re yurn
ME? A hard ass? I just hope I could handle it as well as the other driver did. She did exactly what she needed to do and seemed to have kept her cool and her wits. It's good to see the good guy win.
Oops, I mean good girl.
I,m sorry I don't mean to be on the defense, It has chanded some of my additude just a little bit, I apoligize if I affended any one, Thank you for the kind words
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