Couple flee bungled Greyhound bus hijacking

A man tried to overpower a Greyhound bus driver in Utah late last night, but gave up the supposed hijacking attempt and fled in a different vehicle, the state Highway Patrol said.

The man apparently tried to overtake the driver after ranting about hijackings, said Doug McCleve, patrol spokesman. Bus driver Gene Savage said that the man grabbed the steering wheel and said he was going to flip the bus.

The driver said he kicked the man away and was able to stop the bus. The estimated 40 passengers got out unharmed, McCleve said.

McCleve said it is not clear if the man and a woman allegedly involved in the incident had a weapon, although some of the passengers said the couple threatened them with a bomb.

The two suspects got out of the bus, which had stopped about 15 miles east of Salt Lake City, and were picked up by another vehicle, McCleve said.

The car fled and officers had yet to track it down.

Officers ran a bomb-sniffing dog through the bus to look for explosives. An initial check turned up no bomb, McCleve said.

Earlier this month, a Croatian man slashed the neck of a Greyhound bus driver in Tennessee, causing a crash that killed seven passengers.