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

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.

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.

No one was injured and the bus was not damaged.

Hernandez writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.