California man sentenced to 13 years in prison for Greyhound bus attack

By David Schwartz

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A California man was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Friday for attacking a Greyhound bus driver, forcing the vehicle off the road in Arizona and injuring more than two dozen passengers, court officials said.

Maquel Donyel Morris, 27, will also serve five years' probation under the sentence handed down by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Pamela Gates in connection with the January 2014 incident west of Phoenix, officials said.

The Los Angeles resident pleaded guilty last month to three counts of aggravated assault under a deal with county prosecutors. An attorney for Morris could not immediately be reached for comment. A county attorney spokesman declined to comment.

Police said Morris was a passenger on the Los Angeles to Dallas bus when he left his seat and attacked the driver, attempting to gain control of the steering wheel and saying he wanted to flip the vehicle.

Passengers struggled with Morris and eventually helped the driver subdue him and bring the vehicle to a stop on Interstate 10, some 50 miles from Phoenix. The bus came to a halt about six feet from oncoming traffic.

Authorities said 26 of the 40 passengers on board were injured during the incident.

Prosecutors have said the situation could have been far worse, saying it was amazing that the bus did not overturn and cause more serious injuries.

Morris was reported by state troopers to have been "high on a lot of drugs" at the time, and he later admitted in a jailhouse interview that he had used methamphetamine a few days before the incident.

(Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Eric Beech)