Atlanta bus driver hijacked says ‘I was ready to die’ for passengers

The driver of the hijacked bus in Atlanta speaks out.

On Thursday June 13, driver Ernst Antoine appeared on the ABC show Hello America to talk about the incident that took place on June 11, when a convicted felon allegedly hijacked his bus and forced him to run away from police.

Antoine, who only held the position for three months, said: “I don’t know exactly what others will do in my place. But for me, I was right because people always come first. I was ready to die for them.

The driver continued to describe the situation with the hijacker, saying: “He pointed the gun at me and I took off. » He remembers thinking, “Don’t stop in the world. If I stop, he’ll kill me.

Another passenger told ABC News that when police managed to stop the bus, the suspect “threw down his gun and tried to disguise himself as the victim.”

Then, “when I come out, the police point their guns at me. I said, ‘No, I’m not the killer. I’m the driver.’ And they asked me: ‘Who is the killer? I said: ‘Him'”, Antoine said.

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On Tuesday, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference that officers received a 911 call from a family member of a bus occupant saying the bus had been diverted before another emergency call was made from the bus.

In a press release issued by the Atlanta Police Department, when officers first arrived on scene, “the bus fled and a pursuit ensued.” They added that police used “various tactics to stop the bus” before it “finally stopped near 5107 Hugh Howell Rd. in Stone Mountain.”

After evacuating the bus — which was carrying 17 people, including the driver — officers found an adult victim with what they believed to be a gunshot wound. “The victim was transported to the hospital by ambulance in critical condition, where he succumbed to his injuries,” Atlanta police said.

Schierbaum confirmed that the suspect in custody, Joseph Grier, 39, was a convicted felon with 19 prior arrests.

The police chief also noted that the bus driver was shaken, adding that he appeared to be a “hero” in a “very dangerous situation.”