Six killed in Greyhound crash; passenger says driver attacked

Associated Press WriterMANCHESTER, Tenn. (AP) -- A Greyhound bus crashed Wednesday, killing six of the 38 people aboard and prompting Greyhound to halt all service nationwide as a precaution, authorities said.

The bus crashed after a passenger slit the driver's throat, a woman on board told a Nashville television station. Authorities said they couldn't confirm that.

"We're interviewing passengers and are not saying anything more until we're sure what happened," said Dana Keeton, Tennessee Department of Safety spokeswoman.

Steve DeFord, a spokesman for the Coffee County Sheriff's Department, also said he couldn't confirm details, but told NBC "the assailant" was among those killed. FBI agents were among the investigators at the crash site.

Two senior federal law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the FBI has found no immediate connection between the crash and the terrorist investigations. Law enforcement officials said it appeared to be random violence, but that they were investigating all possibilities.

"We don't have any indication throughout our system that this is part of any pattern," Chet Lunner, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation, told CNN.

Six were confirmed dead at the scene, and the 32 other people on board, including the driver, were injured, Keeton said. She said the injured were taken to at least four hospitals. The extent of the injuries was not immediately determined.

The bus, No. 1115, was en route from Louisville, Ky., to Atlanta when it crashed at 5:15 a.m. CDT, Greyhound spokeswoman Karen Chapman said. The crash happened near Manchester, 50 miles southeast of Nashville on Interstate 24.

Speaking by cellular phone from the crash site, passenger Carly Rinearson told Nashville TV station WTVF that a man who appeared to be 30 to 35 years old kept approaching her front seat and asking what time it was. She said the man then asked if he could have her seat, and she refused.

Afterward, "he just went up to the bus driver and, like, slit his throat, and the driver turned the wheel and the bus tipped over," Rinearson said.

The bus left the eastbound lanes, crossed the median and the westbound lanes and turned over onto its left side. Authorities shut down the interstate and blocked off the scene with yellow police tape.

Dallas-based Greyhound stopped all service as a precautionary measure after the crash, spokeswoman Kristin Parsley said. About 1,900 of its 2,300 buses had been on the road when the crash occurred, she said.

She said buses already en route were allowed to continue to their destinations.

Chapman said the company halted all its service "to see if the incident would impact the safety of passengers elsewhere." She would not confirm an on-board attack or say why the crash might impact other buses. She did say, however, that nationwide service would not normally be halted after one accident.

------Greyhound has set up a toll-free phone number for relatives seeking information about passengers 800-884-2744.