Thursday, September 01, 2005 Updated: 11:32 AM
HOUSTON -- NEWSCHANNEL 5 crews were in Houston as some desperate refugees arrived in a stolen bus.
HOUSTON
-- Thousands of refugees of Hurricane Katrina were transported to the Astrodome
in Houston this week. In an extreme act of looting, one group actually stole a
bus to escape ravaged areas in Louisiana.
About
100 people packed into the stolen bus. They were the first to enter the Houston
Astrodome, but they weren't exactly welcomed.
The
big yellow school bus wasn't expected or approved to pass through the stadium's
gates. Randy Nathan, who was on the bus, said they were desperate to get out of
town.
"If
it werent for him right there," he said, "we'd still be in New Orleans
underwater. He got the bus for us."
Eighteen-year-old
Jabbor Gibson jumped aboard the bus as it sat abandoned on a street in New
Orleans and took control.
"I
just took the bus and drove all the way here...seven hours straight,' Gibson
admitted. "I hadn't ever drove a bus."
The
teen packed it full of complete strangers and drove to Houston. He beat
thousands of evacuees slated to arrive there.
"It's
better than being in New Orleans," said fellow passenger Albert McClaud,
"we want to be somewhere where we're safe."
During
a long and impatient delay, children popped their heads out of bus windows and
mothers clutched their babies.
One
8-day-old infant spent the first days of his life surrounded by chaos. He's one
of the many who are homeless and hungry.
Authorities
eventually allowed the renegade passengers inside the dome. But the 18-year-old
who ensured their safety could find himself in a world of trouble for stealing
the school bus.
"I
dont care if I get blamed for it ," Gibson said, "as long as I saved
my people."
Sixty
legally chartered buses were expected to arrive in Houston throughout the night.
Thousands of people will be calling the Astrodome "home," at least for
now.
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AP - Thu Sep 1, 4:15 PM ET
