Bassy
Lieutenant Commander
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2003
- Messages
- 1,795
I thought this was funny. It happened near my home town.<br /> http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/ve/article/0,1375, <br />VCS_251_2914989,00.html<br /><br />Greyhound passenger leaps onto Hwy. 101 after bus driver won't stop<br />By Maria Gonzalez, mgonzalez@VenturaCountyStar.com<br />May 26, 2004<br /><br />A Ventura man leapt from a Greyhound bus traveling in the fast lane on Highway 101 on Monday because he wanted to get off in Ventura, according to the California Highway Patrol. <br /><br />Although one official said Fidel Cueva, 41, sustained cuts and scrapes it was unclear if had other injuries. <br /><br /> <br />Authorities said Cueva boarded the Greyhound bus in Santa Maria heading to Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. As the bus passed through Ventura, Cueva asked 49-year-old bus driver Alvaro Zeledon of El Monte to let him out. <br /><br />Zeledon refused, saying the bus did not stop in Ventura, said officer Steve Reid with the California Highway Patrol. The bus left Santa Maria about 2:25 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles at 7 p.m., according to the Greyhound Lines Web site. <br /><br />The bus originated in San Francisco and stopped in Santa Maria on the way to Los Angeles, said Kim Plaskett, Greyhound spokeswoman. After a stop in Santa Barbara, the bus switches to an an Express schedule, meaning there are no stops until Los Angeles, Plaskett said. <br /><br />"We do stop in Ventura on other schedules, but not this one," she said. <br /><br />Cueva became upset, moved to the back of the bus, removed an emergency window and jumped out around 5:20 p.m., Reid said. The bus was carrying 19 other passengers and was traveling about 55 mph in the fast lane south of the Santa Clara River Bridge when Cueva jumped, Reid said. <br /><br />Cueva hit the road, rolled and came to rest in the fast lane. Reid said Cueva was lucky not to get hit by other cars. <br /><br />"Several vehicles were able to avoid hitting him," Reid said. <br /><br />He said Cueva was taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center for cuts and scrapes. A nursing supervisor at the hospital, however, was unable to find a record of Cueva's being treated or admitted. <br /><br />Officials said wanting to stop at Ventura appears to be the only reason Cueva leapt from the moving bus. <br /><br />"For whatever reason, this gentleman wanted to get off the bus at Ventura," Reid said. "So he chose to jump out the window."