Witnesses videotaped the brawl, which has since gone viral on social media.
Screenshot from the report of a bus driver being assaulted by the teenagers. (Source: NBC 7 San Diego)
Video Went Viral on the Teenagers Assaulting a Bus Driver
According to the Escondido Police Department, a teenager was detained and two others were charged and released last Tuesday in an alleged assault on a North County Transit District bus driver last week in front of San Pasqual High School. The charges stem from a brawl caught on camera by witnesses, many of whom are SPHS students, as well as cameras aboard a public bus. According to authorities, the teenagers involved have not been identified, despite the fact that they were 14 years old at the time of the incident.
The fight occurred after school on August 29, and a video of the incident quickly went viral on social media. According to police, the bus driver pulled down in front of the school because the three students were raising a disturbance. Video from inside the bus shows the driver getting out of his seat to address the children. Later, the driver is seen standing in front of the door, preventing the pupils from departing the vehicle. A teen with a black bag appears to shove her shoulder into the driver’s chest as she proceeds toward the door after he moves aside. The driver reacts by shoving the kid from behind, and another adolescent with a red backpack pushes the driver out of the door, spilling the altercation onto the sidewalk.
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Assaulted us Driver was Unharmed
Witness video from outside the bus shows the driver and the teenager with the red bag grappling and falling to the grass. The teenager in the black backpack is seen kicking the driver, while the teen in the red backpack stands over him and strikes him. In the video, the girl who appears to be kicking the driver can be heard yelling to a spectator attempting to break up the fight, “He f—— shoved me.”
The teenager who appeared to kick the bus driver was detained and charged with assault with the intent to cause serious bodily harm. According to EPD Lt. Suzanne Baeder, the teenager who struggled with the driver on the ground and a third teen involved were charged with conspiracy and released to their parents. According to Lt. Baeder, the bus driver, who has not been named is a 64-year-old man, and has not been charged.
NBC 7 spoke with a number of witnesses who expressed their thoughts on the incident. Gabriel, a witness, claimed he was only a few steps away when it poured onto the sidewalk. “I saw how she got him by the shoulders and tried to slam him on the ground,” Gabriel explained. Another student and an off-duty security guard on the bus assisted in getting the students away from the driver. The students then fled the area, and the driver stated that he was unharmed, according to EPD.
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