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  • Carnival rampage puzzles authorities

    Carnival rampage puzzles authorities

    Troy man faces series of felony charges; police say he drove into
    church crowd in Southfield

    The Detroit News (Detroit, Michigan)
    May 25, 2006

    By Joe Menard

    SOUTHFIELD -- Police and prosecutors say they have no idea why a
    34-year-old Troy man appeared to intentionally plow his minivan into a
    festival crowd Sunday, injuring 13 people, including children as young
    as 6.

    "It's completely inexplicable," Oakland County Prosecutor David
    Gorcyca said. "Rarely do you see anyone intentionally drive at women
    and children and mow them down like they were pylons. It's an absolute
    miracle that nobody was killed."

    Timothy Hall Buss, who worked as an orderly at Beaumont Hospital, is
    facing a flurry of felony charges, including 13 counts of assault with
    intent to kill, 13 counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, fleeing
    the scene of an injury accident and malicious destruction of
    property. The most serious charges carry a possible life sentence. He
    is being held on $1.3 million cash bond.

    Buss, dressed in blue jeans and an untucked maroon button-down shirt,
    stood mute with his head lowered Wednesday morning as Judge Susan
    M. Moiseev read the charges against him. He requested a
    court-appointed attorney before being led out of the courtroom. He
    mouthed "I love you" to family members in the courtroom as he was
    escorted away.

    Nine children and four adults suffered injuries ranging from scrapes
    and bruises to broken bones when a 1994 Plymouth Grand Voyager drove
    into a crowd at around 2 p.m. Sunday at an outdoor carnival at the
    Alex Manoogian School at St. John's Armenian Church.

    After first veering onto the school property at speeds of 59 miles per
    hour or more, police say Buss slowed to a near stop as bystanders
    jumped in front of the van and onto its side in an attempt to stop the
    driver or get his keys. An Allen Park man injured his hand when he
    punched out a window on the van before it sped off toward the crowd,
    throwing the man from the vehicle.

    The van then proceeded to hit several people and plow into three
    inflatable Moonwalk children's events, police said.

    "I ran after the van. I warned him to stop," said Hosep Torossian,
    principal of the school on Northwest Highway near Nine Mile. "He
    wouldn't listen."

    A 35-year-old Farmington Hills woman who was holding her 3-year-old
    son when she was hit suffered a fractured pelvis and tailbone and is
    hospitalized; her injuries are not believed to be
    life-threatening. The remaining victims have been treated and
    released.

    Torossian said five of the six students injured have returned to
    school

    Buss admitted to drinking earlier in the day, police said, but it is
    unclear whether alcohol played a role in the incident. Buss admitted
    to substance abuse problems and said he had been through a
    rehabilitation program.

    He was arrested at his Troy home about nine hours after the incident,
    and police were unable to determine whether he was drunk when he drove
    into the crowd.

    Police say he didn't appear to have a specific target as he veered
    through the school lot more than 17 miles away from his home.

    "You can rule out the domestic or hate crimes," said Southfield Police
    Detective Sgt. John Harris. "He did not have any reason to target the
    carnival."

    Buss' preliminary exam conference has been set for 8:30 a.m. May 31,
    and the preliminary exam is set for 9:30 a.m. June 2.


    You can reach Joe Menard at (248) 647-7429 or [email protected]

    http://www.detnews.com/apps/p bcs.dll/article?AID=/20060525/METRO02/605250346/10 09

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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