BY THE VILLAGE SUN | A motorized scooter rider went ballistic on an M14 bus driver, physically assaulting the city employee, police said.
According to cops, around noon on Sat., May 6, a 45-year-old M.T.A. bus driver was heading westbound along E. 14th Street from Second Avenue toward Third Avenue, when a scooter rider got into a verbal dispute with him.
The other male then boarded the bus and proceeded to punch the M.T.A. driver in the face multiple times. The attacker then fled on a black motorized scooter heading westbound on 14th Street. The victim was taken for treatment to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in stable condition.
A police spokesperson said that, after entering the bus, the scooter rider demanded to know why the driver didn’t go around him — then pummeled him. The spokesperson’s information identified the attacker as actually having an e-bike, though the notification sent to the media called it a scooter.
The suspect is described as around 6 feet tall, with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, a black hooded sweatshirt with “NIKE” in white letters on the chest, patterned black pants and black sneakers.
Anyone who assaults a transit worker can potentially face up to seven years in state prison for felony second-degree assault. However, according to the Transport Workers Union, few offenders get arrested, convicted and sentenced on that charge.
Police ask that anyone with information call the N.Y.P.D.’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted on the Crime Stoppers Web site, crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All tips are strictly confidential.
Horrible.
There has been an increase in attacks on bus drivers – many in the Bronx and Manhattan.
Could not tell if the alleged perpetrator was using an upright e-scooter or a vespa type vehicle?
Incredibly the MTA has decided to allow ebikes, escooters (under a certain weight) on buses and subways