by Jason Lamb
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Frantic 911 calls released by Williamson County Emergency Communications on Tuesday provided more details into what passengers are calling a frightening ride on board a Greyhound bus heading to Nashville from Memphis early Sunday morning.
Several passengers said the bus driver had dozed off early Sunday morning on Interstate 40, and nearly flipped the bus after veering toward the median.
Officials with the Fairview Police Department said passengers started calling 911 when the driver refused to pull the bus over when the worried passengers asked.
"We're trying to get him to pull over, and he won't," one caller to 911 said in the recordings released Tuesday.
In the recordings, passengers could be heard yelling for the bus driver to "stop the bus," explaining that the bus driver "fell asleep at the wheel."
Thirty-six passengers were on board at the time.
Tennessee Highway Patrol identified the bus driver as 54-year-old Roger Ammens, based out of Memphis.
After following the eastbound bus for several miles, Fairview police said one of its officers pulled over the bus near the Old Hickory Boulevard exit in Bellevue.
Officials with the Tennessee Highway Patrol said they gave Ammens a field sobriety test, but did not end up citing him or arresting him. THP did take the driver off duty, however, and they called for another Greyhound bus driver to take the passengers to the Nashville bus station.
THP said Ammens was within his commercial driving limit for the day, and they say it doesn't look like he's had problems with drowsy or distracted driving in the past.
Ammens did not return NewsChannel 5's attempts to contact him Tuesday. A spokesperson for Greyhound said they are investigating the incident.
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