Female Bus Driver Assaulted On The Job

HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A female Metro bus driver was assaulted early Wednesday morning while on the job.

The assault was reported at 4:20 a.m. on Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of Highland Avenue, in Hollywood, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

According to witnesses, a man in his early 50s was acting agitated on the bus and attacked the driver when the vehicle pulled over at a stop.

"Some guy hit her in the face and she wasn't expecting hit. It was bad enough she was bleeding. He hit her pretty hard," passenger Derrick Elkhorn said.

The driver suffered injuries to her head and face and was transported to Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

The suspect fled the scene on foot, but was apprehended by deputies a short time later at a Jack in the Box restaurant on Fountain and Highland avenues.

He was arrested on felony battery charges.