In Seattle, two Metro bus drivers are sharing how they helped the police catch the man suspected of killing fellow bus driver Shawn Yim. The suspect, 53-year-old Richard Sitzlack, was arrested early Saturday morning thanks to their sharp instincts and quick thinking.
Timmothy Nelson, one of the drivers, was behind the wheel of his bus on the E Line when he got a call around 3 a.m. The message? There might be someone matching the suspect’s description on his bus. Nelson looked around and saw a man at the back, fast asleep. His heart raced, but he stayed calm.
“I was anxious, but I knew I had to keep my cool,” Nelson said. He flagged down a nearby police officer, which led to Sitzlack’s arrest right there on his bus.
But before Nelson’s encounter, another Metro driver, Anthony Ross, had already noticed Sitzlack. It was the end of Ross’s shift when he spotted the man on his bus. Something didn’t sit right with him, so he trusted his gut. Ross drove back to the stop in his own car and saw Sitzlack changing his shoes. That’s when it clicked—Ross remembered seeing those exact shoes in a photo the police had shared with the public. He immediately called the King County Sheriff’s Office to report what he’d seen.
“My heart kind of stopped because I knew I’d seen those shoes before,” Ross said. He felt a huge sense of relief when his suspicions were confirmed.
For Nelson, seeing Sitzlack on his bus felt surreal. “It was so bold and insulting,” he said. “He had just killed a Metro driver, and yet he was comfortable enough to keep riding buses and even sleep in the back.”
Ross believes Sitzlack had been riding his bus several times, even on the same day Yim was killed. Reflecting on the incident, he said, “As a bus driver, you shouldn’t have to worry about your safety like this. Your job is to get people from one place to another, not wonder if you’re going to make it home.”
Yim, described as a patient, kind, and family-oriented man, had spent the day before his tragic death delivering gifts to his loved ones. “The next day, he was gone,” Nelson shared, his voice heavy with emotion. “It makes you want to hold your family a little tighter.”
Both drivers are calling for changes to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again, emphasizing the need for safer working conditions for transit operators.
