An L.A. Dash bus driver was attacked Sunday by a homeless woman in South Los Angeles, just two days after dozens of Metro transit operators staged a “sick out” amid ongoing safety concerns.
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to reports of the most recent attack just before 1 p.m. at the intersection of South-Central Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard, police confirmed.
Early reports by the video news service OnScene suggest the transient assaulted the driver after refusing to pay for a ride. However, Dash buses are currently free of charge, so the nature of the dispute remains unclear.
Video footage of the incident obtained by KTLA showed the violent struggle between the female bus operator and the homeless woman, who was able to drag the driver, who had been behind a plexiglass barrier, off the bus and onto the sidewalk.
The driver fought back as the homeless woman continued the violent attack, pulling on the bus operator’s uniform and landing at least one blow to her face, video showed.
After several heated minutes of the violent altercation, the bus operator was able to get back into her vehicle and shut the homeless woman out before driving off.
The recent “sick out,” staged by operators with the L.A. County Metropolitan Transit Authority on May 3, came after a series of violent and even deadly attacks on bus and train operators and passengers.
On April 22, a Metro train passenger was stabbed to death on her way home from work in Studio City. Authorities said her attacker was a transient.
Earlier in the month, a bus driver was stabbed by a passenger in Willowbrook, and in March, a transient armed with an airsoft gun hijacked a Metro bus and crashed into the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Los Angeles.
Last week, a member of the LA Metro board said she wouldn’t ride the bus alone because she was concerned for her personal safety.
Dash buses make frequent stops downtown and in 27 neighborhoods across the city, according to LADOT’s website.
It is unclear if the driver in Sunday’s attack sustained any serious injuries or was evaluated at a local hospital.
Police told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson that the female suspect was taken into custody, though it is unknown at this time what charges she will face.