AP and staff reports

Thursday, October 04, 2001

The Natchez Democrat

A passenger on a Greyhound bus cut the driver’s throat Wednesday

in Tennessee, causing a crash that killed six of the 40 people

aboard.

The incident 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.

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 4:15 a.m. CST 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 noon.

”The officials have assured me that they believe this tragic

accident was the result of an isolated act by a single deranged

individual,” Greyhound president and CEO Craig Lentzsch told

reporters in Washington, D.C.

Gordon Brown, terminal manager for Delta Bus Lines in Natchez,

said the incident had little effect on local operations and that

no changes in security were planned as of Wednesday.

&uot;The only way it’s affected us is that the buses from

larger cities … will be a couple of hours late coming in,&uot;&160;Brown

said early Wednesday.