DOSWELL, Va. -- A bus full of passengers on their way to New York from North Carolina were stuck for nearly three hours on the side of Interstate 95 near Doswell.
A passenger on the bus was upset that the bus bathroom was broken but the driver would not stop for a restroom break. According to state police, that is when the passenger chose to relieve himself on the bus steps.
The driver pulled over and called 911, but in a twist of events, the driver was taken into police custody.
"Well I was traveling from Raleigh, North Carolina to New York City and the driver and a passenger had an altercation in reference to the restroom that was unavailable," said Michelle Clark. "The passenger urinates down the stairs, the driver decides to pull over in this rest area and call the authorities only to discover that he has no licenses and several open warrants for his arrest."
"Then the passenger is being argumentative and the police search him and find drugs and weapons. I guess you can't make this kind of stuff up. Cus’ here I am on the side of the road in the woods," she added. "And that’s the story in a nutshell and they’re both gone and I’m still stuck so…”.
The passenger was arrested and charged for possession of marijuana.
CBS 6 news learned there was a warrant out for the driver's arrest. CBS 6 initially reported the driver was not licensed to drive the bus, based on police information. Police investigated the matter and then updated the media to a new twist in this already convoluted story.
Police contacted the bus company during the incident, and a new bus driver was going to be sent to the scene.
"Before the other driver could arrive, the Troopers continued their investigation into the driver and confirmed through fingerprints that he had been a victim of identity theft and the warrant was not for his actual arrest," wrote Sgt. Steve Vick, with Virginia State Police. "The Troopers subsequently returned the driver to the bus at the Rest Area and the bus continued on its destination."
During the time that the driver was transported, the bus remained at the rest area where passengers had access to restroom facilities and vending machines. A trooper remained on scene with the bus and its passengers the entire time, until the original driver returned, police said.
