Maryland Bus Fight: Driver suspended, caught on video beating female passenger, report says

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS) -- A Maryland bus driver was suspended after she was caught on video beating a female passenger in an all-out brawl, CBS Baltimore reports.

A spokesman of the Maryland Transit Administration said the driver was suspended without pay and although she reported the incident, the MTA did not realize its severity until seeing a video of the altercation.

The Baltimore Sun reported that the fight happened on Monday afternoon and was recorded and uploaded on YouTube, which garnered the attention of thousands of viewers and several media outlets.

In the video, the bus driver and the female passenger are seen punching and kicking each other several times as the driver tries to hold the girl down. Other passengers quickly move out of the way as one tells the driver the leave the girl alone.

The bus driver appears to say the fight was "about being disrespectful."

MTA spokesman Terry Owens said the driver worked with the MTA since 2003, the Sun reported. He wouldn't release the names of the driver or the student as investigation is ongoing.

"It's very stressful and you never know what else was going on with this particular driver," a Maryland bus driver told CBS Baltimore under condition of anonymity.

The driver said she gets cursed at every day, particularly by young students.

"They're just really, really disrespectful. They really are. It's outrageous how they act," she said.

The driver said the MTA does give extensive training on how to cope.

"We have de-escalation classes. We have stress reliever classes. We have it all," she said. "We're not allowed to put our hands on anyone unless it's directly in defense of ourselves."

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