Bus Crashes After Rider Attacks Driver Suspect Tries To Steal Cars Of Those Giving Aid To Injured

A man attacked the female driver of a Greyhound bus carrying 48 passengers late Friday night, causing the bus to leave the freeway and resulting in seven minor injuries, Oregon State Police said.

The incident happened on Interstate-84 about 30 miles east of this eastern Oregon town and about 370 miles east of Portland.

The bus was bound from Boise to Portland.

Passengers and passers-by detained Jorge Luis Castillo, 37, until police arrived. Castillo is in the Baker County Jail with charges pending. His hometown was not immediately available.

Police said passers-by reported that Castillo tried to steal the cars of some drivers who stopped to help.

The seven were taken by ambulance or private car to a hospital for checkups.

State Police supervisor Terry Vandehey in Bend, which handles dispatching for Baker, said one of the injured was the driver.

He said the suspect became angered with the driver for some reason and that she stopped the bus.

He then reportedly attacked her, threw her from the bus and got into the driver’s seat, he said.

Vandehey said no motive is evident.

He said there are outstanding misdemeanor and felony warrants against the suspect but did not know from where or for what offense.

The driver managed to get back on the bus, but the man drove it across the opposite lane into an embankment, where it came to a stop upright.