Two Arrested in Sunday Attack on Bus Driver

Two suspects have been arrested for allegedly attacking an RTA bus driver early Sunday morning, RTA Transit Police reported Monday.

According to a report by Channel 19 Action News, the police have tentative IDs on two additional individuals in connection with the attack near Community College Avenue and East. 40th Street in Cleveland.

An RTA surveillance video (a screen-grab from the video is shown with this article) recorded the attack.

The bus was heading west on East 40th Street at around 12:40 a.m., the Channel 19 report said, when two passengers got on and paid their fares. A third man walked on at that point, the surveillance video shows, and swung what Transit Police said was a white sock filled with a hard object (one or more rocks or a brick) at the bus driver, hitting her three times. He then turned and swung the sock at someone else on the bus (but not shown in the surveillance video) before fleeing.

The driver pushed a Priority Request button and then called police with her cell-phone to report the attack, according to Channel 19, but didn’t hit the alarm button, the official procedure after such an attack.

After being taken to St. Vincent Charity Hospital, the driver, 51, was treated and released, then went back to work, the report said.

Bus driver attacks are not unheard of in the RTA system, where in 2012, 2013 and 2014, 27, 11 and 18 operators (so far) were attacked, respectively, the Channel 19 report said.

As a result, the system has installed surveillance cameras on all buses and trains, as well as stations and parking lots, the report said.