I've be trying to track down as many names and accounts from people who were supposedly a part of this group. The criteria I have been using is
tourists who were in French Quarter hotels and mention the buses that were rented. These are the ones I've found so far.
Debbie Durso and Kathy Trampas of Washington, Michigan
Durso and Trampus had been trying to leave the stricken city since the rains and winds died. They bought tickets on a bus arranged by their hotel to
flee Wednesday, only to see it commandeered by police, said Gray.
Durso told the Associated Press that they'd asked a police officer for assistance and his response was, "
'Go to hell -- it's every man for
himself.' "
www.freep.com...
Larry Mitzel and Jill Johnson from Saskatchewan, Canada. Mitzel's cousin Eugene Herman was also travelling with them.
They trudged for blocks to walk over a bridge, but officers wouldn't let them cross — and
fired a few warning shots over their heads to convince
them.
....
"I grew up in an upper-middle class family. Street life is foreign to me,'' said Larry Mitzel, 53, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. "I'm not sure I'm
going to get out of here alive.''
....
"We're appalled,'' said Jill Johnson, 53, of Saskatoon.
www.gazettetimes.com...
Later in the same article Whit Herndon of Jonesboro, Arkansas confirms that shots were fired at a group trying to cross the bridge. I don't know
what group he was with but I thought I would add to the list anyways.
They were turned back when another group trying to cross began to threaten the officers, said Whit Herndon, 32, of Jonesboro, Ark.
I also found another account of Bradshaw and Slonsky's story. I'll quote some of the things that weren't in the original post:
And when exhausted hurricane victims set up temporary shelters on the highway, Gretna police came back a few hours later, fired shots into the air
again, told people to "get the f -- off the bridge" and used a helicopter to blow down all the makeshift shelters, the paramedics said.
When the officers had pushed the crowd back far enough, one of them took the group's food and water, dropped it in the trunk of a patrol car and
drove away.
Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson confirmed that his officers were under his orders to seal off the suburban city of 17,500 residents.
sfgate.com.../c/a/2005/09/09/BAGL1EL1KH1.DTL
I've also made a list of some of the other people who claim to be in the group that hired the buses but don't go into much detail of what happened.
Maybe after they are home for a while they will start to tell their stories and we can find out more.
Bill Hedrick of Houston, Texas - was travelling with his wife and mother-in-law
Ann Robertson of Nashville, Tennessee
Susan Dewey and Eric Hansen - they live in 'Washington'. I don't know if they mean the state, DC, or one of the cities.
