24 hurt in Greyhound bus crash west of Phoenix
Jan 23, 2014, 6:25 AM | Updated: 6:39 pm
PHOENIX — Two dozen people were injured Thursday morning when a Greyhound bus crashed on Interstate 10 about 65 miles west of Phoenix.
At least three passengers were airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. The remaining 20 were taken to West Valley hospitals by ambulance. There were 40 riders.
A Harquahala Valley Fire spokesman said a passenger, Maquel Donyel Morris, had tried to take control of the steering wheel from the driver, causing the accident.
Another passenger described him as “[going] berserk.”
A Department of Public Safety spokesman said Morris, of Los Angeles, where the bus had stopped Wednesday, was taken into custody and faced felony endangerment, assault and aggravated assault charges.
The Dallas-bound bus was traveling eastbound about 1:45 a.m. when Morris tried to overpower the driver. He allegedly screamed, “Everybody’s going to die” and is believed to have been hallucinating. Other passengers rushed to help the driver and prevented the bus from meeting oncoming traffic.
Morris, 25, and a woman who was said to be his girlfriend got off the bus and ran into the desert, returning a half-hour later. They were promptly arrested.
The Facebook page of a Maquel Morris from Los Angeles had the following posts:
KTAR’s Jim Cross and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
