Bus driver suspended after being attacked by passenger
Mon, 31 Aug 2015 22:07:47 UTC
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida bus driver is upset after he was suspended from work for several days months after he was viciously attacked by a passenger. According to the victim, his employers told him he should have handled the altercation differently.
Sixty-six-year-old Ken Legler was on his routine drive July 15 when a woman stepped onto the bus. Legler said she handed over her bus pass, but he noticed it had been tampered with and then called his dispatcher to inform them regarding the pass. "I've been a bus driver 28 years. This is the way I was trained to do my job," he said.
As Legler reached out to the dispatcher, the passenger began demanding for her pass to be returned and repeatedly beat Legler over the head once he refused to hand back over the pass. "I noticed that the dates that the computer had stamped on the bus pass had been washed away and someone had taken an ink pen and wrote July 5 through Aug. 7," he said.
As the altercation ensued, several other passengers stepped in to stop the 49-year-old woman, identified as Andea Jamison. Legler said the incident was something he has never experienced before. "She could have killed 20 people on the bus," he said. "I'm doing 45 mph in fairly heavy traffic at 10:30 in the morning, so all I could do at that point was try to hold onto the steering wheel."
As Jamison was pulled away from Legler, he was pulled away from the driver's seat as the bus rolled towards a busy intersection. "I was able to break away from her reach over the steering wheel and pull the emergency brake," he said.
Legler was transported to Imperial Point Hospital with an injured ear drum and concussion. Jamison was charged with one count of battery on a person over the age of 65. However, Legler was suspended for five days and notified Friday that his actions stemming from the attack did not follow Broward County Transit protocol, and he failed to avoid the dispute. "I'm at top pay. I make $24 an hour. That week is costing me $960," he said.
According to paperwork given to Legler, BCT said, "The bus operator should kindly ask the rider to surrender the pass. However, if the passenger refuses, allow him or her to retain the pass."
Documents went on to say that drivers should be "courteous, helpful and patient, avoiding arguments" and "avoid disputes."
Legler said he was attacked for checking a bus pass, an attack that could have ended deadly. "If she did it to me one time, why would she hesitate to attack another driver another time?" he asked. "Thank God no one was killed on my bus. Maybe the next time someone could be killed."
The BCT released a statement that read, "BCT is committed to the safety of both our customers and our employees. The incident that occurred on July 15, 2015, has been thoroughly investigated and processed as part of our standard disciplinary procedures."
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