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WASHINGTON - A female Metrobus driver is recovering after she was punched in the face by a passenger so hard that her tooth was broken.
According to ATU Local 689, the union that represents Metrobus drivers, the male suspect reached around the bus shield and punched the driver in the face last Wednesday just before midnight at the Huntington Metro station in Alexandria.
The union said the bus driver along with other witnesses on the bus reported that the suspect was upset because he missed the bus at the Braddock Road Metro station several miles away. He then decided to get on a Metro train to travel to the Huntington station to confront the driver at her next stop.
Quincey Jones with ATU Local 689 said a passenger tried to intervene as the bus driver called for help.
"My understanding is that he pushed the other passenger or struck the other passenger while she was trying to get help and she had her back turned," Jones said. "When she turned, he had finished dealing with the other passenger and came back to her - she didn't notice him - and threw a punch around the safety shield."
While the union released a photo of the suspect on Monday, Metro would not release surveillance images. A Metro spokesman said surveillance footage is "evidence in a criminal matter and thus precluded from public release."
The union said Metro's response has been "unacceptable."
"Any attack on a Metro employee, whether it is an operator or maintenance that work on vehicles in the field, places everyone on the bus, and even the public around the buses in danger," said ATU Local 689 Second Vice President Raymond Jackson. "It has been almost a week since this incident and the leadership at Metro has done very little to inform the public that this happened. We find that unacceptable."
The union is also calling for stronger penalties in Virginia and D.C. for attacks on transit workers. They cited Maryland passing legislation this year that would increase penalties for those who assault transit workers.
"A message needs to be sent to reassure the riding public and the transit workers that they can have a safe ride every time they take a bus or train in Maryland, D.C. or Virginia," said Jackson. "No one should get on a Metro bus and feel unsafe because Metro leadership is doing too little or the penalties are not effective. The bus shield on that bus did not save the operator or the rider that was attacked. We must pass new legislation and get serious about Metro safety, and we must do it now."
In D.C., a bill introduced by council members in November that would make all assaults on transit workers automatic felonies remains stalled in committee.
Metrobus drivers along with their union have brought up concerns over their safety last year after they dealt with several incidents involving passengers. A woman pleaded guilty for simple assault for tossing a cup filled with urine at a driver while riding on a Metrobus in Northeast D.C. in August.
Last September, another woman was charged with resisting arrest and simple assault after she was accused of dousing a driver with juice from a bottle of Sunny Delight.
A man was arrested last October for allegedly being armed with a knife and threatening to kill a Metrobus driver after he refused to pay for his fare.