Cops: driver jumps from airport shuttle

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) - A neighborhood near T.F. Green Airport was briefly evacuated Monday night, after an airport parking lot shuttle crashed and started leaking natural gas.

Firefighters said the driver of the shuttle bus panicked and jumped from the moving vehicle when he heard a loud pop and hissing sound shortly after filling up with gas. The unmanned bus struck a fence and a tree on the airport property along Strawberry Field Road.

Emergency crews briefly evacuated several homes as a precaution. No one else was on the bus, and the driver was not seriously hurt. Fire crews believe the gas line under the bus malfunctioned.

Warwick and airport police are investigating the incident.