Police: MTA Bus Driver Attacked With Unknown Substance
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police are searching for a man they say threw an unknown substance in the face of an MTA bus driver in the South Bronx.
It happened around 3 p.m. last Tuesday on the Bx6 bus along 161st Street.
Police said the suspect got into an argument with the 54-year-old victim and then threw something in his face.
According to the transportation workers union, the man brought a full sized bicycle onto the bus and got upset when the driver told him that is against MTA rules.
"This is not an isolated incident. This type of abuse of transit workers happens all the time throughout the bus and subways system. Last week, alone passengers spit in the face of three transit workers in one day," TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano said in a statement. "More and more, our members are suffering these indignities. It has to stop... It not only impacts worker safety, but it is a serious public safety hazard and it impacts service. We need stiffer penalties for these types of assaults and more police presence on buses and trains."
The suspect got off the bus and fled south on River Avenue on his bike. The victim was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital to be treated for minor irritation to his eyes and mouth.
"I'm actually shocked. There's never a reason to assault someone," Bronx commuter Sean Butler told CBS2's Nina Kapur.
"Those guys are sitting there, and if someone has a bad intention, they could hurt those guys. So I feel bad for them," fellow commuter Sheldon Barasch said.
People who ride the bus every day said it's pretty common to seen an argument break out when the buses are crowded or especially when someone tries to avoid paying the fare.
"One bus driver, I thought he was going to get hit, and I was on the bus and I was going to mace the guy," said commuter Robin Fernandez.
Fernandez said she would defend the driver, but others said passengers shouldn't be exposed to this kind of violence.
"There's lots of schools along this line," Butler said. "So you have a broad range of kids traveling this bus line, and they shouldn't see an act of violence like that on someone just doing their job."
Assaulting a transit operator is felony in New York City, punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by Tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
