Baltimore Bus Brawl Between Driver and Juvenile Passenger Caught on Tape
Published at
Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(BALTIMORE) — A Baltimore bus driver has been suspended following a brawl with a female student who the driver accused of “being disrespectful.” The tussle was caught on tape and posted to YouTube.
When the video begins, the female bus driver is standing over the passenger and struggling with her as the teenager kicks and punches the bus driver. When the passenger stands up, the two wrestle their way to the back of the vehicle with the bus driver holding the girl by her arm and by her hair. The two struggled to the back of the bus with the girl throwing several punches at the driver’s head and shoulder. The driver eventually pushes the girl into a corner seat.
The driver seems to be shouting, “You want to fight somebody?” The passenger answers, “No.”
The passenger can also be heard saying, “Get off of me.” Other passengers were shouting, videotaping and some laughter can be heard.
It is unclear what initiated the fight.
When the fighting stopped, the two women had an inaudible tense exchange before the bus driver returned to the front of the bus. “You shouldn’t have jumped in my face,” the passenger said.
Moments later, the driver can be heard saying, “It wasn’t about that. It’s about being disrespectful.”
The incident occurred on Monday at around 2 p.m. and the video was posted to YouTube on Tuesday. It has been viewed over 106,000 times.
“The bus operator reported that an incident had occurred on her bus and then we got calls from media informing us that it has been posted on YouTube,” Maryland Transit Administration spokesman Terry Owens told ABC News. “The report included some details, but I’m not going to discuss the content of that report.”
Neither the bus driver nor the passenger have been identified. Owens said the the driver has been with the agency since 2003 and that the passenger involved was a student and a juvenile. He said no one was seriously injured.
The driver has been suspended without pay, pending the results of an investigation, according to Owens.
“We hold the safety of our passengers and employees as our highest priority at the MTA,” he said. “Our employees are expected to respect this policy and passengers are expected to abide by the rules and policies of the agency when using our systems.”
The incident is being investigated by the Maryland Transit Administration Police.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio