Teens Accused Of Brutally Beating Bus Driver After He Refused To Let Them Ride For Free
A few teens in New York decided to beat up a bus driver who was simply doing his job.
According to the New York Post, four teenagers boarded a bus in New York’s Bronx neighborhood at the intersection of Conner Street and Boston Road early Saturday evening. Once the teens entered the bus, the driver asked for their payment and one of the teens told him to “just drive (expletive) the bus.”
Soon after, things took a turn for the worst with the teens punching and kicking the helpless driver before fleeing the bus as well as the scene. CBS Local reports that the four men fled south on Boston Street and the search for them still continues.
The four teens are being described as black males between 16-years-old and 19-years-old. Police are asking anyone with any information on the attack to contact them immediately. NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline can be reached at 1-700-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Additionally, information can be submitted via the Crime Stoppers website, or by texting a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
Luckily, the 38-year-old bus driver only suffered minor injuries and opted not to go to the hospital following the attack. The bus is run by Liberty Lines and makes its route between the Bronx and Westchester County. Tony Utano, the President of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, issued a statement on the driver’s behalf.
“This attack is absolutely unacceptable, and we urge anyone who recognizes these individuals to contact the police. This attack also vividly highlights why Liberty Lines buses need partitions installed.”
The search is on for a group of teens who police say beat a bus driver in the Bronx. https://t.co/kY0Jx59XoU
— 1010 WINS (@1010WINS) June 12, 2018
In addition to photos of the teens, the video of the beating can be seen on the New York Post’s website. A similar incident occurred in Minneapolis this past April. According to Twin Cities, 26-year-old Sterling Smith was charged with one count of third-degree assault after an incident on a bus. According to the report, three women entered the bus and one of them would not stop swearing. After a few moments, the bus driver called police when the woman became unruly and refused to stop using offensive language aboard the bus.
As the bus pulled over to wait for police to arrive, one woman suggested that the bus driver had made racial comments and that is why the bus was stopped. The woman then told her boyfriend, Sterling Smith, that the bus was pulled over and Smith took it upon himself to go to the bus and pick up his girlfriend. When he got there, he began striking the bus driver’s head, causing a bloody nose, lip, and eyelid.
Luckily, Smith was later captured and arrested.
