Around the end of October, rumors about a possible CATbus hijacking incident circulated through the Clemson community.

Members of a particular Clemson group chat on GroupMe alerted others of a situation where two Clemson students were involved in an attempt at kidnapping before crashing on “some back road near the lofts,” according to messages obtained by The Tiger.

One of the members recommended others to “be safe if you take the bus or any for of clemson transportation.” They reminded the group chat to “check if the driver is in a uniform,” “be aware of your surroundings,” and “don’t be scared to call the cops.”

Clemson University’s Parking and Transportation Services reported that “a kidnapping on the bus did not happen.”

Jerry Kerns, interim general manager at Clemson Area Transit, was familiar with these rumors. He reported that the driver had encountered “a bump where he hit a guardrail and broke out the back door.” Kerns also stated that the “crash” that was reported was merely a turn that was made too sharp and resulted in the driver hitting the guardrail and the glass in the door breaking.

“The passengers asked if they could get off. They were told yes, and they did get off immediately,” Kerns explained. No injuries were sustained by the driver or the passengers.

CATbus replaced the broken glass in the bus door, and the bus was back on the route the next morning.