BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer
On Thursday, July 19th, HART Bus operator, Colin Brown, was assaulted as he drove the #2 bus route. A female patron entered the bus, paid her fare, and then attacked Brown, hitting him at least 20 times with her fist.
Brown reportedly tried to protect his face as he pushed the immediate assistance button on the bus. Brown said he tried the button several times, but HART staff was not available and did not respond.
Brown was able to finally open his seatbelt and get out of the driver’s seat. He then pushed the patron off the bus and she just sat on a bench at the bus shelter as if nothing had happened.
Brown then called dispatch from his cell phone and informed HART he had been severely assaulted, and he needed police, a road supervisor and medical help.
Brown was transported to the hospital by ambulance. The patron, identified as Mayi Nathali Rijo-Martinez, was subsequently arrested and charged with battery of a public service employee. Her bond is set at $1,000.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local #1593, who represents HART drivers, mechanics, and customer service personnel, released a statement about the incident.
ATU Local 1593 Chief Steward, Michaela Stuckey, said nobody from HART informed Brown’s wife about the incident, or check on his condition to see how he was doing.
“Mr. Brown has a severe concussion, and it seems no one from the authority cares.
“Brown is not the only driver that’s been attacked. We have drivers being assaulted all the time, but when it’s a driver of color, little or nothing is done about it. They are hiding how they are wasting the money of taxpayers.”
Stuckey said the union has filed several unfair labor practice claims on behalf of the drivers, asking HART to treat the drivers like they are human.
“As far as the incident with Brown is concerned, they told us he knew the woman, but even if that’s true, that’s no excuse for him being attacked.”
HART Public Information Office spokesperson, Marcia Mejia, said the incident is under internal investigation.
“We take these incidents seriously. We did test the vehicle to make sure the communication equipment was working properly, and on Thursday, it was working, so the bus was put back out on route. Safety is number one for us.”
Mejia said as far as they are concerned, this is not a widespread problem, and the incidents are pretty much isolated.
“But, one is too many for us. We have safeguards for crime deterrents. It isn’t an epidemic. This was the only incident where a driver was actually injured.
“Mr. Brown is out on leave, and we are currently negotiating with the union on a new contract.”
Brown said he’s currently receiving Workman’s Compensation, and has not set a date when he will be returning to work.
“Because I was strapped into my seat at the time of the attack, I couldn’t really defend myself. I received several blows to my head, and I messed up my back trying to move around in my seat.
“My attacker didn’t seem angry at first, but something set her off, and I don’t know what it was.”
Brown said he started driving for HART 8 years ago, and this is the first time something like this has happened to him.
“As a driver, this is not something you see coming. You don’t prepare yourself from being attacked by a patron. That is not something you’re trained to deal with when you start working here, and no one ever talks about it.”
Brown said he does feel HART could do a better job protecting the drivers by listening more to what they are trying to tell them, and be more concerned about their safety than increasing ridership.
“I think if they put certain policies in place, it would stop this kind of violence.
“I will say it could have been a lot worse, because the bus was pretty full when I was attacked. The response time of a supervisor coming to my aid should have been a lot better, and it was only after I used my cell phone when one actually showed up.”
Brown said he doesn’t think it’s fair that he’s being investigated to see if he instigated the incident.
“There are rumors going around that the woman who attacked me was my ex-girlfriend.
“She was not my girlfriend, and I only recall seeing her riding the bus on a couple of routes I’ve driven on. We’ve never had a conversation, and I don’t know her name or anything about her.”
