Teen claims Metro bus driver tried to abduct him
SEATTLE - A Capitol Hill teen is claiming a Metro bus driver tried to abduct him Sunday, according to the Seattle Police Department.
The 15-year-old got onto a Metro Route 49 bus around 5:30 p.m. He later told officers the female bus driver greeted him by saying, “Hey, little boy. Where are you going?”
According to the police report for the incident, the driver told the teen there was a report of a runaway boy who looked just like him and he would have to stay on the bus.
The teen, afraid the driver was going to detain him, called his mother on his cellphone. When he didn’t get an answer, he tried to get off the bus a stop early at Bellevue Avenue and East Pike Street.
As the teen was exiting the bus through the front door, the driver closed the door on his ankle, according to the report.
The teen told officers the driver appeared to be putting all her strength into the lever that closes the door in order to keep him from leaving the bus.
The teen finally pulled his ankle free and walked home, calling his mother again as he went.
The teen’s mother filed a police report, and officers documented the mark on the teen’s leg from the door closing on it. She told officers she was also going to lodge a complaint with King County Metro.
The Seattle Police Department has not followed up on the incident or assigned anyone to the case.
Metro received the complaint from the teen's mother on Wednesday and is currently investigating.
The 15-year-old got onto a Metro Route 49 bus around 5:30 p.m. He later told officers the female bus driver greeted him by saying, “Hey, little boy. Where are you going?”
According to the police report for the incident, the driver told the teen there was a report of a runaway boy who looked just like him and he would have to stay on the bus.
The teen, afraid the driver was going to detain him, called his mother on his cellphone. When he didn’t get an answer, he tried to get off the bus a stop early at Bellevue Avenue and East Pike Street.
As the teen was exiting the bus through the front door, the driver closed the door on his ankle, according to the report.
The teen told officers the driver appeared to be putting all her strength into the lever that closes the door in order to keep him from leaving the bus.
The teen finally pulled his ankle free and walked home, calling his mother again as he went.
The teen’s mother filed a police report, and officers documented the mark on the teen’s leg from the door closing on it. She told officers she was also going to lodge a complaint with King County Metro.
The Seattle Police Department has not followed up on the incident or assigned anyone to the case.
Metro received the complaint from the teen's mother on Wednesday and is currently investigating.
I call his bluff.Â
This one smells worse than a broken raw sewage line. Maybe the police should check more into the mom and son because their story just doesn't sound right.
When was the last time a metro bus had a manually operated door?Â
Sounds like bs to me. I would like to know what the bus driver has to say about these allegations.
49 is a trolley route, so there should be lots of riders around. If there was any chance of this woman abducting this kid, she would either have to take this kid out on the terminal, or take him out during a deadhead.
It's only a claim. I highly doubt the credibility of this kid. Route 49 at 5:30pm is a busy route. Were there no witnesses? If this boy was being abducted, why didn't he call 911? Also, the driver told the kid that there was a report of a runaway boy. If the kid was innocent, all he had to do was stay on that bus until either his parents or the police arrived. I'm sure his mom would understand the situation.
Was on the bus a cple months back and and had to direct the substitute driver on where the route went---after he had missed a cple of turns and several stops......
Yeah, may need more info. I just don't see how a driver would try to abduct someone right in the middle of a route right in the evening commute.
Sounds fishy......
@The WA Mama: I agree. Especially the part about, "putting all her strength into the lever that closes the door." Sorry dude! That lever is a multi-position electric switch, not mechanical. Basically, it is either in the door open or door closed position. And whatever position the switch is in, that is what the door will do. There is no additional physical effort required of the driver. In fact, a strong physical jerk can break loose the lever from the switch itself.
Give me a freakin' break....are they that hard up for news stories?
Here come the lawyers with lawsuits in hand.
Highly unlikely that an abduction would occur by a driver in the midst of her route Metro Route 49 bus around 5:30 p.m.
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Popular urban route between UW campus to downtown seattle via Capitol Hill / 10th ave / broadway.
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Ths sounds like a bunch of BS. I ride that route all the time, and I can tell, there is absolutely no "lever" that driver could be "putting all her strength" into to trap the boy's ankle.  All Metro buses, or at all the ones I ride, use  pneumatic door openers that operated with a switch next to the driver. Â
 @Glassblower63 I think he's thinking of a school bus when he says there was a "lever"
@Glassblower63 To my understanding, the doors are supposed to automatically open backup if they can't close all the way or if a sensor detects something.Â
I can see how this kids story lacks credibility.
"Mrs. Doe, we had a report that someone who looks like your son was a runaway and his parents were frantically looking for him and we contacted our drivers to be on the lookout.. The driver was trying to do the right thing but got a little overzealous. Please accept our apologies."Â
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End of story... ma'am.
@Getov Mylon Except parts of the boys story don't add up.
Maybe he didn't call 911 because he was afraid no one would believe him, like all of the people on this forum! How do you explain his ankle? Whether it's true or not, the police are required to follow up.
 @citizen kane I'm wondering if the closing of the doors on his ankle was an accident or he was screwing around sticking his foot in the door and then made the rest up... The door actuator isn't mechanical so there'd be no "putting all her strength" into closing the doors...Â
@Datsuyama @citizen kane I think he was screwing around- or tried to sneak onto the bus as the door was closing- I haven't ridden a bus much in the last 14 years but I do remember people trying to sneak on if they didn't have the bus fare and the doors closing on more than one of the idiots.
 @citizen kane Creepy old lady. That's just absurd, she cannot do that to him. Granted, the boy still should have called 911.. that's why we have it, for emergency situations, scared of the police or not. If he's not a runaway, he would have had nothing to worry about. Since Metro does communicate with the police regularly, maybe she was just concerned.. can't come to a conclusion yet, but she still should not have tried to hold him. She needs to let him go and if she thinks it is the kid that ran away, then let him go and document where you dropped him off at, and call it in. That is the best way to handle it.
@Stopseattlepolice Or the kid made the whole thing up.
This sounds like a situation where a bus driver who had intentions of doing the right thing, after being advised by metro dispatch that SPD wanted drivers to be on the lookout for a runaway teen, that matched this kidâs description.
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Seattle Police and Metro Police KCSO on an almost daily basis send word to Metro drivers via their dispatch. In an attempt to be helpful it could be some drivers could be overly zealous as if they had somehow been deputized and  taking action is now their duty.
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These BOLOs can get out of hand if left unsupervised. The situations vary from lost child to shoplifting suspects. Suicidal persons or Alzheimer patients who may have taken a bus get the call from spd to let metro drivers know.
Somewhere along the way, this driver may have had casual conversation with a cop who may have implied; try to keep the kid on the bus until the cops get there. So many miscommunication possibilities with this one.
Metro drivers are prohibited from physically  intervening in situations  and are limited to just call it in to dispatch/supervisors.
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We all remember the infamous video that went viral where a gang of girls brutally beat another woman in the bus tunnel as the driver sat with their bus door open and did absolutely nothing.
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This story does not read like an abduction
@Harrison  Also, if the driver was trying to help, why didn't she call the police?
 @citizen kane The driver is not allowed to call police directly in most cases. She must contact the "coordinator" (dispatcher) and had likely already done so.
 @Getov Mylon Thats the way I understand it too. Drivers need communicate with law enforcement via Metro's dispatch center. @citizen kane was not able to connect the dots and no additional action was taken by police. My guess is there had been a broadcast to drivers about a boy that fit his description, satisfying officers and their supervisor who took report and approved report.
@Harrison That's quite the story you just made up. Sounds like someone trying to cover for the driver.Â
I too have to wonder if this was true why did the kid not just call 911???
Sounds weird to me, i'll wait until the video footage from the bus cameras come out before jumping to any conclusions.
Sounds just a tad fabricated!
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If true, it wouldn't be hard for the Seattle Police to find the driver for questioning.
5:30pm on the 49? I'll wait till a corroborating witnesses comes forward, this doesn't quite pass the smell test.
That's only slightly creepy...
<I>the driver told the teen there was a report of a runaway boy who looked just like him and he would have to stay on the bus.</I>When did it become Metro bud drivers' responsibility to police our youth?
Why didn't he just call 911?
@Rider So if the a bus driver happens to see someone who is wanted by the police should they just ignore it? Say someone who is raping young women and finds their targets on the bus... Or is it just the youth you want the bus driver to ignore? Personally if my child ever runs away I hope like hell anyone who recognised him/her would do what they could to make sure my child stayed safe and in sight until I or the police could get there.Â