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CNN Live Today
Still No Known Motive in Bus Attack
Aired October 01, 2002 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Police investigators in Central California say that they still have no motive in an attack that sent a Greyhound bus barreling off an interstate.
Witnesses say a scissors-wielding passenger slit the throat of the bus driver as the Greyhound rolled along Interstate 5 about 50 miles southwest of Fresno. The bus was doing highway speeds, but it left the road and plunged into a cotton field. Two people were killed, nearly 50 others were injured.
CNN's James Hattori is standing by at the scene of the crash. He joins us now with the very latest details. Good morning, James.
JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... morning, Leon. We are awaiting a briefing from police officials in the next 15 or 20 minutes. It is being described as a wrap-up briefing. As you have reported, the most recent information is that the weapon has been recovered. Not a knife, as was previously reported, but a pair of scissors.
But the question remains why a passenger aboard a Greyhound bus would attack the driver, forcing him to lose control and the bus to end up in a cotton field on the side of Interstate 5? Now, 46 passengers were on board at the time. In the aftermath of the incident, obviously, it was a chaotic scene. It was a bus going from Los Angeles to San Francisco last night. Two women aboard dead, three other passengers seriously injured, including the driver, who has a neck wound. He is reported now in stable condition, though. It all happened around 9:00 p.m. West Coast time. Many passengers aboard were asleep when a suspect suddenly lunged toward the driver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE MCCLURE, PASSENGER: It happened so fast. It was seconds. He ran from the back of the bus to the front of the bus in like two seconds, and you know, I heard that he did -- somebody told me that he had actually, you know, cut the driver with something, either a knife -- I don't know what kind of knife...
QUESTION: What did the man look like?
MCCLURE: He was -- I would say -- he was Hispanic, about 5-8. He came -- ran by me in a second, you know, in a split second time, and they did catch him. He was out in the bushes and he came running up this way and three cops, three officers, went up and they grabbed him, they had him on the ground over here, and people were saying, Is that him? Is that him, and the people were saying, yes, that's him. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HATTORI: The suspect this morning was identified as 27-year-old Arturo Topia Martinez (ph), described as a transient from the Los Angeles area. He was taken into custody last night after the bus came to a halt, and he tried to run away from authorities.
Now, there is no indication, as we've said all along, as to why he attacked the driver. There were no threats. There was no warning that the passengers could notice. Investigators are looking at the possibility that Mr. Martinez is mentally unstable. They are also looking into the possibility of his criminal background. They have questioned him this morning, and he has apparently given conflicting stories, so there's still a lot to be sorted out -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right. That is exactly the case out there, James. Thanks. James Hattori reporting live for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 1, 2002 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Police investigators in Central California say that they still have no motive in an attack that sent a Greyhound bus barreling off an interstate.
Witnesses say a scissors-wielding passenger slit the throat of the bus driver as the Greyhound rolled along Interstate 5 about 50 miles southwest of Fresno. The bus was doing highway speeds, but it left the road and plunged into a cotton field. Two people were killed, nearly 50 others were injured.
CNN's James Hattori is standing by at the scene of the crash. He joins us now with the very latest details. Good morning, James.
JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... morning, Leon. We are awaiting a briefing from police officials in the next 15 or 20 minutes. It is being described as a wrap-up briefing. As you have reported, the most recent information is that the weapon has been recovered. Not a knife, as was previously reported, but a pair of scissors.
But the question remains why a passenger aboard a Greyhound bus would attack the driver, forcing him to lose control and the bus to end up in a cotton field on the side of Interstate 5? Now, 46 passengers were on board at the time. In the aftermath of the incident, obviously, it was a chaotic scene. It was a bus going from Los Angeles to San Francisco last night. Two women aboard dead, three other passengers seriously injured, including the driver, who has a neck wound. He is reported now in stable condition, though. It all happened around 9:00 p.m. West Coast time. Many passengers aboard were asleep when a suspect suddenly lunged toward the driver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE MCCLURE, PASSENGER: It happened so fast. It was seconds. He ran from the back of the bus to the front of the bus in like two seconds, and you know, I heard that he did -- somebody told me that he had actually, you know, cut the driver with something, either a knife -- I don't know what kind of knife...
QUESTION: What did the man look like?
MCCLURE: He was -- I would say -- he was Hispanic, about 5-8. He came -- ran by me in a second, you know, in a split second time, and they did catch him. He was out in the bushes and he came running up this way and three cops, three officers, went up and they grabbed him, they had him on the ground over here, and people were saying, Is that him? Is that him, and the people were saying, yes, that's him. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HATTORI: The suspect this morning was identified as 27-year-old Arturo Topia Martinez (ph), described as a transient from the Los Angeles area. He was taken into custody last night after the bus came to a halt, and he tried to run away from authorities.
Now, there is no indication, as we've said all along, as to why he attacked the driver. There were no threats. There was no warning that the passengers could notice. Investigators are looking at the possibility that Mr. Martinez is mentally unstable. They are also looking into the possibility of his criminal background. They have questioned him this morning, and he has apparently given conflicting stories, so there's still a lot to be sorted out -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right. That is exactly the case out there, James. Thanks. James Hattori reporting live for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
