Black Greyhound Bus Driver Slashed; Six People Die In Subsequent Crash

A passenger on a Greyhound bus slashed the driver's throat with a blade, grabbed the wheel and crashed the vehicle recently, killing six of the 40 people aboard and prompting the company to temporarily shut down service across an already jittery nation.

The crash happened just after 4 a.m. on Interstate 24 near Manchester, TN, 60 miles southeast of Nashville. The bus, which originated in Chicago, was headed for Orlando, FL. At the time, most of those aboard were asleep.

The driver, 53-year-old Garfield Sands of Marietta, GA, survived the slashing and at JET press time was in good condition at the Medical Center of Manchester following surgery for two 5-inch-long, 2-inch-deep cuts on his neck. "He never acted threatening until the actual attack," said Sands, according to the doctor who treated him, who added that Sands told doctors that he was attacked with a box cutter. Six of the 40 passengers, including the assailant, died. Everyone else suffered various injuries.

The 29-year-old assailant, Damir Igric, was among those killed in the incident, according to the FBI. Igric, a Croatian who entered the United States in Miami in March of 1999 with a one-month visa, boarded the bus in Chicago. They said Igric was apparently trying to take over the bus.

"We believe he was acting alone," said R. Joe Clark, the FBI's agent in charge of the Knoxville office. "I would say this was a disturbed individual..."

"Every few minutes he seemed to ask (the driver) what time it was and where they were," authorities said.

Sands told doctors Igric suddenly "accosted" him, grabbed the wheel and forced the bus into the lanes of oncoming traffic. Then it crossed the road and tipped over, throwing his attacker through the windshield. He said he crawled from the wreckage through a window and flagged down passing vehicles for help. Dr. Ralph Bard, the surgeon who stitched up Sands' neck, said the driver's thick neck saved his life.

"I'd have been dead," Bard said.

After the crash, Greyhound shut down nationwide service as a precaution. The move stranded some 70,000 passengers. Service resumed several hours later after consultation with state and federal officials.