WASHINGTON — The man who police say hijacked a Metrobus tried to attack the bus driver with pliers and admitted to using synthetic marijuana and PCP before boarding the bus a block from his Deanwood home, court documents say.
Keith J. Loving, 30, was ordered held without bail during a court hearing Wednesday afternoon. He is charged with second-degree murder for the death of Anthony Payne, 40, who was throwing out a bag of trash at a neighborhood gas station when he was run over by the stolen bus.
Payne was pinned by the bus and his legs were crushed. He lost “a massive amount of blood” from his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital, court records said.
In the criminal complaint, police write that Loving boarded the U6 bus wearing a mask covering the lower half of his face. He was breathing heavily and didn’t take his seat after swiping his SmarTrip card.
When the bus driver asked if Loving was all right, Loving yelled aggressively and lunged at the driver using a pair of needle nose pliers as a weapon. The two struggled and the driver was able to disarm Loving. But Loving then pushed the driver off the bus, closed the doors and drove away.
The four passengers who were on board escaped safely.
Police said that Loving drove erratically for several blocks, swiping the side of another bus carrying senior citizens and driving into oncoming traffic. Loving pulled into the lot of the Crown gas station at the corner of Minnesota and Nannie Helen Burroughs avenues and drove “diagonally between two gas pumps.”
He stopped the bus briefly before turning into Payne, who was captured by the bus’ video camera tossing trash into the station’s dumpster.
Police quickly arrived and found Loving still behind the wheel of the bus. It took several police officers and some pepper spray to pull him off the vehicle.
Loving was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. While there, he told medical staff that he had smoked K2, a form of synthetic marijuana, and PCP before he commandeered the bus.
The bus driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later released.
According to court records, at the time of the hijacking, Loving was wanted for violating probation. He pleaded guilty to assault and attempted robbery last fall and missed a status hearing in April.
Loving’s next court date has been set for May 26.
