'He just left': Greyhound bus passengers stranded overnight in Abilene without a driver

Nearly two dozen travelers at the Greyhound bus stop in north Abilene were waiting for transportation late Monday morning after being left at the station Sunday evening.

The bus, carrying 22 passengers, arrived in Abilene at approximately 5:30 p.m., and was scheduled to depart at 6 p.m. Sunday.

However, according to riders, it was the bus driver who departed.

No replacement arrived at the appointed time.

The bus station, once located downtown across from the then-Abilene Civic Center, now is a pickup point at a 7-Eleven convenience store on State Highway 361, near Interstate 20.

"He just left," said one of the passengers, Linda Nunn, on Monday morning. "This is unacceptable."

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In response to a request for information Monday morning, a Greyhound representative provided the following statement:

"Adhering to safety guidelines requiring all drivers meet a certain amount of rest hours during travel, our driver was relieved from his trip. During that time, the scheduled replacement driver became unavailable."

"A new replacement driver is expected to arrive soon to complete the schedule."

In the meantime, passengers were provided with food, water and blankets by the city of Abilene, Salvation Army and American Red Cross.

The low temperature in Abilene overnight was 28 degrees. Many of the passengers spent the night in the bus.

Some were seen Monday morning milling around outside, waiting for their journey to continue.

Nunn, traveling from Cleveland to visit her daughter in Los Angeles, said this was not the first delay in her journey. Her earlier bus routes had been diverted south due to weather, and she had experienced a 16-hour delay in Dallas.

"I was supposed to be at my daughter's at 7 tonight," Nunn said. "Now it looks like it won't be until tomorrow."

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Greyhound bus driver 'just left' passengers in Abilene overnight