At approximately 6:35 am on 3/18/15,
a man ran up to the #44 bus at the intersection of Capitol Hwy. and
49th at a non-scheduled stop. He pounded on the door and once he was on
the bus begged the driver to not let another man on the bus who was
chasing him because he feared for his life. He was obviously distressed.
The other man had caught up and was pacing at the door, telling the bus
driver to let him on as well. The man in the red and black windbreaker,
who had arrived first, was begging your driver to not let him on and
stated clearly "He is going to kill me." The driver paused for a moment
then let the other man on the bus. He began repeating "I don’t mean no
disrespect, but you cant talk to me like that." The man in the
windbreaker was cowering, pleading with the driver to not let him take
off with this man on the bus. The driver simply said to both of them to
get off the bus because "these people are going to get upset at you." At
that point, the other man grabbed the man in the windbreaker by the
back of his neck and led him off the bus, all the while the man in the
windbreaker is begging for help. All but one of us called 911.
This
was not our regular driver. Although I can understand the possible
reason he let someone on the bus simply because they requested to get on
the bus, there should be a discussion about what a driver should do
when someone is pleading for their life to not let someone on the bus.
Thisr driver could have allowed someone to be taken away to their death.
At
Pioneer Square there were people holding signs saying "Transit Driver
Appreciation." Several of us were quiet, as well as the bus driver.
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