LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a Southern California shuttle bus ride that went way off course (all times local):
7:10 p.m.
Long Beach police say a shuttle bus driver who took passengers on a long, scary ride wasn’t kidnapping them: he was just lost.
Passengers began jumping out of the bus windows Thursday night when their expected five-minute ride to the “Dark Harbor” Halloween event at the Queen Mary tourist attraction turned into a long ride into neighboring Carson.
The Long Beach Press-Telegram says police report the driver became disoriented by street closures.
Some of the 20 to 30 passengers on board said the driver refused to heed their demands to stop the bus. Cellphone video showed some jumping out of windows. After several 911 calls, authorities stopped the bus.
Authorities say they’re still looking into a battery allegation that the driver punched a man who wanted him to stop.
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2:15 p.m.
The Long Beach Police Department says a shuttle bus ride that took passengers way off course was not a kidnapping.
The department tweets that the incident is only being investigated as a battery between the driver and a single passenger.
Passengers were expecting a short ride Thursday night to the “Dark Harbor” Halloween event at the Queen Mary tourist attraction in the Port of Long Beach.
Instead, the driver went off course and wouldn’t stop, ending up in the neighboring city of Carson.
Passengers tell KABC-TV they pleaded with the driver to stop and let them off but he wouldn’t respond, and when he struck a rider they began jumping out the bus windows.
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7:05 a.m.
A shuttle bus for a Southern California Halloween attraction became a scare for riders.
Passengers were expecting a ride of a few minutes Thursday night to the “Dark Harbor” event at the Queen Mary in the Port of Long Beach.
Instead, the driver went off course and wouldn’t stop, ending up in the neighboring city of Carson.
Passengers tell KABC-TV they pleaded with the driver to stop and let them off but he wouldn’t respond, and when he struck a rider they began jumping out the bus windows.
Long Beach police Lt. Robert Woods tells the Los Angeles Times the driver is being questioned but there’s a good chance he will be placed under arrest for kidnapping.
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