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Posted on 10/03/2001 10:38:33 PM PDT by Pericles

October 4, 2001

Six Die in Greyhound Crash After Driver's Throat Is Slit

By SARA RIMER

MANCHESTER, Tenn., Oct. 3 — A passenger on a Greyhound bus slashed the neck of the driver early this morning, and as the two men struggled for control of the steering wheel, the bus careered across two lanes of oncoming traffic on an Interstate highway and flipped over, killing the assailant and five other passengers, law enforcement officials said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said late this afternoon that the attack, which occurred shortly after 4 a.m. on Interstate 24 near here, was an isolated incident not connected to any terrorist acts. But Greyhound Lines, the country's largest scheduled bus company, shut down all service for six hours in what the chief executive, Craig Lentzsch, called a precaution.

"The nature of the attack suggested that it could be terroristic in nature, and as a result, without having more specific information, I thought it was prudent to get everyone to a safe place until we could get more information," Mr. Lentzsch said in a telephone interview from Washington. "We do have the events of Sept. 11, and everybody is in a heightened state of awareness on security related issues."

The F.B.I., which is handling the investigation, identified the assailant as Damir Igric, 29, a citizen of Croatia, who entered the country in Miami in March 1999 on a 30-day transit visa. Special Agent R. Joe Clark of the F.B.I., who spoke to reporters at the crash site, said he had no other details on Mr. Igric, other than that he got on the bus in Chicago.

The ambassador of Croatia, Ivan Grdesic, said an investigation by his government indicated that Mr. Igric "was connected with crimes in Croatia." Asked to elaborate, Mr. Igric said, "It was violent behavior and substance abuse."

The driver was in stable condition this afternoon at Manchester Medical Center after surgery for lacerations to his neck. Dr. Ralph M. Bard, who performed the surgery, said driver was Garfield Sands, who lives in Marietta, Ga., and drives a route between Indianapolis and Atlanta.

Dr. Bard said Mr. Sands, 53, was "amazingly calm."

"He said that this fellow a couple of times, even after he made the announcement of when the next layover was, came up and asked him about routing and times," Dr. Bard said. "Then the last time he came up again and this time without saying anything he just attacked him and cut his neck. Then he pushed the driver out of the way and took the wheel himself and drove it off the road."

Dr. Bard said Mr. Sands said he thought the weapon was a razor or a box cutter.

F.B.I. officials, who interviewed passengers as well as the driver, said the driver had struggled with his assailant for control of the bus.

Carly Rinearson, 19, who was traveling from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Conyers, Ga., was seated directly behind the driver, her father, Robert Rinearson, said in a telephone interview.

"She said this guy approached her and asked her what time it was and then asked for her seat," said Mr. Rinearson, the supervisor of safety and student management for the Fort Wayne Community Schools Transportation Department. "When she refused her seat, he then went back to his seat at the back of the bus. Then an hour later he came up with — she thought it was a small knife or pocketknife — and he just reached around and slit the driver's throat."

Mr. Rinearson said his daughter had suffered a deeply bruised chest, and had jammed her wrist "but other than that she's well."

The bus flipped over, with the driver's side on top. Mr. Igric was thrown through the windshield. The driver was able to crawl out the window.

"He ran up the highway about 200 yards to get help," Dr. Bard said. "Couldn't get to anybody, went back to the bus, and there was an emergency vehicle there then."

The Manchester Medical Center chief of staff, Dr. Al Brandon, also spoke to Mr. Sands. "The first thing he wanted to know was how were the passengers doing," Dr. Brandon said.

Greyhound officials said there were 39 passengers on the bus, which was going from Chicago to Orlando, Fla. Twenty-one passengers were treated at hospitals and released, said Jamille E. Bradfield, a Greyhound spokeswoman. Twelve were hospitalized.

One passenger underwent an emergency Caesarean section and gave birth to a baby girl at a local hospital this morning. Mother and daughter were in stable condition.

Greyhound runs 1,800 to 1,900 buses a day, Ms. Bradfield said.

The 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. shutdown, which Mr. Lentzsch said was unprecedented, required drivers to go to the next stop and halt.

Mr. Lentzsch, who was in Washington to talk to federal transportation officials about increasing bus safety, said Greyhound had long had security guards and cameras in terminals. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, the company took steps to tighten security, and will add measures in response to today's incident.

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