CANTON, Ohio — What should have been a normal day for Stark Area Regional Transit Bus passengers turned into a terrifying moment when 47-year-old Donte Hill hijacked their bus at gunpoint on Monday.
Canton police said they got a call about multiple men with guns on the 110 bus route, so an officer working at the SARTA bus station checked it out. But, according to police, he did not see anything matching the caller’s description of the men in question.
Then, the 110 bus pulled into the station just after 11:30 a.m. on Monday.
The driver got off visibly shaken and reported Hill’s description to police, along with Hill’s travel demands and threats of harming others if his directions weren’t followed. There weren't any reported injuries.
After speaking with the victim, police realized the call they received about four men with guns originally came from Hill, who was no longer on the bus that pulled into the station.
The driver said Hill demanded to be dropped off at 2nd and Cleveland Avenue SW, which led officers on a brief adventure around Downtown Canton until a call came in that Hill had gone to the Canton Police Station.
Officers arrested Hill. He is facing multiple charges, including kidnapping and abduction and is being held at Stark County Jail on a $500,000.
As for the driver, SARTA CEO and Executive Director Ralph Lee said he’s fine and has some time off from work.
“I (have) to commend him on how he operated and what he did during that process to make sure that he protected himself and protected the passengers,” said Lee.
Meantime, Lee said SARTA will look at ways to improve public safety following this situation.
“We’ll talk about it. We’ll say, okay, could he have done anything different.’ From what we initially see, he did an outstanding job of just remaining calm. Could’ve been a lot worse. It could’ve been a lot worse,” said Lee.
News 5 tried speaking with the bus driver. At this time, he was not available to speak with us.
