Man hijacks Downtown Austin bus

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) -- A pregnant Capital Metro bus driver was held at knife-point as the hijacker ordered her to drive him to Southwest Austin.

The terrifying ordeal happened before 7 a.m. on Monday at 5th and San Jacinto Blvd. and ended an hour later at Old Bee Caves Road and Fletcher Lane.

"There was a threat of a knife, I don't believe that she saw one but he was looming over her and basically wouldn't allow her to call for help. Fortunately there was no one else on the bus so she did what he had asked and started driving south," said Misty Whited of Capital Metro.

Police spent Monday morning searching for the suspect in Oak Hill, using foot patrols, dogs and air support but did not locate him.

"We don't believe that he is specifically a danger to the public because we believe that he was taken advantage of the capital metro bus and the bus driver to take him to south Austin for whatever reason," said Sergeant Richard Stresing of the Austin Police Department.

Some of Cap Metro's buses have video surveillance on-board; others have a drive cam system that activates when there is an unusual motion on the bus or manually by the driver.

"We don't think she was able to push the button because it's off to the side but it's a red button so he may have noticed if she was going to try to push it," Whited said.

Capitol Metro said these types of incidents are rare, but Cap Metro drivers are trained to handle similar situations.

"She's okay and we're glad she's okay but she's pretty shaken up," Whited said.

At this time, Capital Metro buses are not equipped with GPS systems, but systems are said to be on the way and should be installed within a year.

Police said the driver never saw a knife but did give them a good description.

Police are looking for a Hispanic male, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, 30 to 40 years of age, long dark hair in a ponytail with a mustache and soul patch.

The suspect was last seen wearing a camouflage jacket and pants.

Police are asking for the public's help in the investigation.