Deputies: Hickory woman escaped gunman by getting on school bus

A Hickory woman escaped a carjacker Friday morning by getting onto a school bus, authorities said.

The woman was backing out of her driveway at about 7:35 a.m. in the 2100 block of 25th St. Dr. NE. A gunman then tried to open the driver’s side rear passenger door of the woman’s car, Catawba County sheriff’s investigators said.

The woman continued to back up. She then drove up the street, left her car and got into the school bus to seek help, investigators said.

The gunman went behind the house of the woman’s neighbor and into some woods.

About an hour after the incident, deputies found Wesley Eric Wright, 22, and charged him with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and resisting a public officer. Wright was jailed on $50,000 bail.

A sheriff’s deputy found a large revolver with an eight-inch barrel where the attempted carjacking occurred. A ball cap and a bandana also were found.

Joe Marusak

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Deputies: Hickory woman escaped gunman by getting on school bus."