Bus Passenger Arrested in Assault on Driver
With a load of riders on board, a bus driver was hit over the head with a bottle Monday night by an irate passenger, police said.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority driver had picked up the passenger about 9:20 p.m. at Tujunga Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard, said Gary Wosk, spokesman for the agency. The passenger, Ruben Gonzalez, refused to pay his fare, said Police Sgt. Gary Patton.
Gonzalez, 22, allegedly hit the driver over the head with the bottle as he was exiting at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Burbank Boulevard, Wosk said. Other passengers helped detain Gonzalez until officers arrived.
He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and booked into Van Nuys Jail, Patton said. The driver was able to drive himself to his doctor’s office, where he was treated for a bump on his head.
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