As Woman Got in Cargo Hold, Bus Driver Turned Lock: Cops

Passenger on Peter Pan bus said act was intentional
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2019 7:10 PM CDT
As Woman Got in Cargo Hold, Bus Driver Turned Lock: Cops
Wendy Alberty   (Connecticut State Police)

Talk about a bumpy ride. A bus driver is accused of intentionally locking a passenger in the luggage hold and taking off down the road, according to Connecticut State Police. Officers say a woman called 911 from inside the compartment as the Peter Pan bus drove from New York to Boston around 4pm Sunday, claiming the driver had locked her inside as she retrieved an item from her bag. Police traced the call and the bus was eventually stopped on Interstate 84 in Union, Conn.—some 30 miles northeast of Hartford, where the bus had made a stop. One passenger, Caroline Van Allen, said the uninjured woman must have been in the compartment for at least 45 minutes, per ABC News. She says banging could be heard beneath seats at the front of the bus.

Once police arrived, the woman emerged, seemingly out of nowhere. "We just watched as this woman, extremely calmly, took all of her belongings. She did not say one word to the driver," Van Allen tells CBS Boston. The woman told police, however, that "she had been purposely locked inside." Wendy Alberty, 49—who drove the first leg of the trip until the stop in Hartford—was charged with reckless endangerment, unlawful restraint and breach of peace before posting $2,000 bail on Monday. Due in court on Aug. 21, Alberty has also been suspended by Peter Pan, where she's worked since 2012. The company notes she's "received many customer commendations on her safe driving and customer service." "[We] are treating this as our #1 priority," Peter Pan adds, per People. (More weird crimes stories.)

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