Boy, 16, Charged With Punching Bus Driver
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 16-year-old boy faces charges stemming from an assault last week that left a Metro Transit bus driver with what authorities described as possibly "life-altering" injuries.
According to a petition filed in Hennepin County, the teenager is charged with a felony count of third-degree assault in relation to a scuffle that happened last Thursday at the bus stop near Southdale Mall in Edina.
A witness told authorities that he saw the a group of five teenager, one of whom was the 16-year-old, hit the bus around noontime, signaling for the driver to let them on.
The driver then stopped the bus and told the group that he was not loading the bus at that time, the witness said. An argument then ensued, and the 61-year-old driver got out of the bus, carrying a can of soda.
When the driver stepped out, one of the young men hit the can out of his hand, and the driver bent down to pick it up. That's when the 16-year-old punched the driver in the head, the witness said. When the driver was on the ground, the same teenager hit him at least three more times.
Emergency crews responding to the scene said they found the driver with a cut over his left eye that was bleeding profusely, the petition said. The driver also appeared to have suffered head trauma, as he was "significantly disoriented."
The paramedics thought the driver's vision in his left eye could have been severely damaged or lost. The driver was later diagnosed with several facial fractures.
After the 16-year-old was taken into custody, he admitted to hitting the driver. However, he said the driver swung at him first with the can of soda and called him and his friends disparaging names.
Review of the bus surveillance video shows the driver directing vulgar language at the young men, but it doesn't show the driver swinging the can of soda at the 16-year-old.