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Man steals San Diego airport shuttle with 8 people aboard, police say

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Airport workers took an unexpected detour Tuesday after a man commandeered a shuttle that runs between terminals and an off-site employee parking lot.

The driver of the bus pulled over at a curbside pick-up area at San Diego International Airport’s Terminal 2 and stepped off to hand off a piece of equipment to another shuttle driver that had pulled up behind him about 3:45 p.m., Harbor police said.

The suspect, described as a 46-year-old from Arizona, was already on the bus, got behind the wheel and drove off with eight airport employees on board, police said.

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The man headed eastbound on North Harbor Drive away from the airport, speeding and ignoring traffic signals, police said.

When the shuttle reached a red light at Hawthorn Street, about two miles from the airport, two passengers approached him, authorities said. The suspect then jumped off the bus and tried to flee, but a nearby parking enforcement officer and an airport worker held the man until police officers arrived shortly after 4 p.m.

The suspect, who is not an airport employee, was arrested and booked on felony charges including kidnapping and auto theft.

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No one was injured and the bus was not damaged.

Hernandez writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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