Greyhound bus breaks down on I-85N, stranding passengers in NC for nearly 10 hours

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Greyhound bus traveling from Atlanta to New York was stuck on the side of the road for more than eight hours Saturday morning after a tire blew out, according to Greyhound and passengers on the bus.

Around 2:30 a.m., Greyhound bus #US067 stopped in Charlotte. About 50 miles and 45 minutes later, a rear tire blew out and caused the bus to come to a stop on the side of I-85 North in Lexington, North Carolina.

Pauline Mitchell was a passenger on the bus who got on in Atlanta en route to Virginia. She said a tow truck got to them around 5 a.m., but nothing was fixed by the time she called Queen City News nearly five hours later.

According to the passengers on the bus, the bus driver ordered an Uber back to Charlotte to pick up a new bus for the passengers. Meanwhile, before he got back, another Greyhound bus saw them on the side of the road and stopped to help them out. Mitchell was one of only nine passengers from the broken-down bus who were able to fit onto the new bus. There were about 50 people on the Greyhound bus that broke down.

“Had she not stopped, no one was going to rescue us,” Mitchell said. She got on that bus around 11 a.m. and told Queen City News the original driver didn’t get back to the broken-down bus until about noon.

Mitchell thought taking the bus would be a good idea. Unfortunately, not this time. “I opted to take the bus because I have developed a fear of flying, and a train would be 20 hours from Atlanta to Richmond. As it turned out, it was still almost 20 hours,” Mitchell said.

In a statement to Queen City News, Greyhound said, “We can confirm a bus traveling from Atlanta to New York experienced an unexpected mechanical issue earlier today. We sincerely apologize to our passengers for the delay and inconvenience. A replacement bus is currently en route to pick up affected customers, and our team is working to provide assistance and ensure they reach their final destinations as quickly as possible.”

Queen City News most recently spoke to Mitchell around 2:30 p.m., and she said she was still on her way to Virginia on the bus that rescued her.