Throwing A Slowdown On This ‘Speed’ Reference

Yesterday, a man was running for a the 33 bus in North Philadelphia. When the bus driver noticed him, the bus slowed down and the man was able to make it on the bus.

Unfortunately for him, a man was on the bus waiting for him. Immediately after the 45-year-old man got on the bus, a 50- to 60-year-old-man leaped at him, asked him where his money was, then shot him twice in the head.

Now, check out the Daily News story by David Gambacorta and Wendy Ruderman about the incident:

As in the movie “Speed,” no one was killed in this real-life violent-action scene, although a man was shot in the head, and a 12-year-old girl was trampled in the ensuing panic.

Uhh, what? Clearly, this lead was written by somebody who has never seen the movie Speed. (Which is a shame, because it’s Dennis Hopper’s best performance besides his role as King Koopa in Super Mario Bros.) Even if you only count the bus part of the movie, it’s still incorrect. Plot summary from Wikipedia:

The police commandeer a large flatbed truck to try to unload the passengers. Jack warns his superior that the attempt would be seen by the bomber (since television news helicopters are filming overhead) and the passengers killed. However, the young cop convinces Payne to allow the bus driver off the bus. Seeing the injured man taken off safely, a woman named Helen attempts to get off too. Payne, who is indeed watching, detonates a small charge below the floor of the bus near the door; Helen falls through the floor, and is run over and killed.

Geeze. You try to write a story that finally doesn’t contain the words thug or punk and you end up messing up a really stretched movie reference. Either that, or maybe this was a nice, comforting way of telling us that the 12-year-old girl trampled in the aftermath died.

Man scrambles to catch bus, only to catch bullets to the head [Daily News via 14th Windiest State]
Speed (film) [Wikipedia]