Arrests Made In Bus Driver Attack In The Village: Police

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — A man and a woman are facing assault charges in connection with an attack on a bus driver in the East Village.

On Aug. 31, a man approached an off duty bus at Fourth Avenue and East 8th Street and held the doors open, while a woman ran aboard and punched the driver several times in the face, police said.

Police identified the two individuals as 35-year-old Juan Ortiz and 25-year-old Shady Newton.

According to the Transport Workers Union Local 100, who represents the bus driver, the attack happened after an altercation between the pair and a different passenger.

A man riding the bus complained the duo did not pay their fare when they got on. That's two when the two individuals threatened the passenger for saying something, according to the Transport Workers Union Local 100.

The bus driver also spoke up about the pair not paying their fare, but the man and woman ignored him, said the union.

The couple then threatened the passenger for saying something, and he made his way to the bus driver for protection. The driver told the man to stay on the bus and let the couple eventually exit, according to the Transport Workers Union Local 100.

However, after the couple exited, they followed the bus around the corner. When the passenger left the bus, Ortiz held the door open as Newton ran in and repeatedly punched the driver in the face, according to police.

The bus driver was taken to NY Presbyterian Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to the face, neck and back.

The description of the incident from the NYPD differs slightly from the Transport Workers Union Local 100 retelling, as it says that the bus driver actually kicked the pair off the bus for threatening the other passenger, rather than just waiting until they exited.

However, in an email from the Transport Workers Union Local, the bus driver wanted to clarify that he never kicked the two people off the bus.

It was one of three attacks that took place against MTA employees in 24-hours.

Read More:

• MTA Calls Bus Driver Attack In The Village 'Heartbreaking'