A bus driver on Interstate 95 driving to Boston with about 60 passengers suddenly told them he was tired and needed to sleep — so he dropped them off on West Avenue by the Darien Railroad Station and drove off, Darien police said.
It was 2:30 a.m. Wednesday when Darien police officers came across the crowd, which included elderly people and adolescents. No train would stop at the station for a few more hours.
Here’s the Darien police news release about the incident:
On Sept. 28 at approximately 2:30 a.m., officers working the overnight shift came across an unusual situation in the downtown Darien area.
At that time approximately 60 people were located on West Avenue near the Post Road. The people were standing on the sidewalk with suitcases and various personal items.
The group was comprised of elderly, middle aged, and adolescents and most were non-English speaking which complicated the situation further.
Investigation determined that these individuals had been on a tour bus traveling from Philadelphia to Boston after seeing Pope Francis in Philadelphia earlier in the day.
While driving through the area on I-95, the bus driver suddenly claimed that he was “driving too long” and he needed to go to a hotel to sleep. The driver let all of the people off the bus near the Darien Train Station and advised them they needed to take a train to Boston.
Darien officers realized that it would be at least three or more hours before a train was available in Darien and this was clearly not a viable option for the cold, hungry and tired passengers.
Officers then determined that a Boston bound Amtrak train would be leaving from Stamford at 3:25 a.m. With limited options and resources available, shift supervisors Lt. Ray Osborne and Sgt. Mark Cirillo quickly arranged to get an 18 seat transport bus used by Darien EMS Post 53 to the scene.
Darien Police Officer Michael Delvecchio drove the bus making two hurried trips from Darien to the Stamford train Station while Officers Patrick Clohessy and Robert Dahm filled their patrol cars with people and luggage to complete the shuttle runs by 3:20am.
Every passenger was transported safely without incident and made the train to Boston.
Police have been in contact with the bus company, LCL Transportation of Boston, MA, in attempt to gather further information as to why the passengers were left stranded in Darien. At this point management of the company has indicated that the passengers were presented with alternatives but did not accept those options.