Guest Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 This story just makes me so angry. Did anyone happen to catch the news and see this out of control jerk who boarded an MCTS bus and attacked the bus operator? It was captured on surveillance camera showing this lowlife animal attacking, repeatedly throwing punches at the operator. The operator was helpless as he tried to continue driving but this crazy animal kept on throwing, landing punches. What kind of society are we living in these days? This is so, so sad. I only hope this animal gets what he deserves, a long prison term, there is no justification for this kind of violence, none!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buslover88 Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 This story just makes me so angry. Did anyone happen to catch the news and see this out of control jerk who boarded an MCTS bus and attacked the bus operator? It was captured on surveillance camera showing this lowlife animal attacking, repeatedly throwing punches at the operator. The operator was helpless as he tried to continue driving but this crazy animal kept on throwing, landing punches. What kind of society are we living in these days? This is so, so sad. I only hope this animal gets what he deserves, a long prison term, there is no justification for this kind of violence, none!. I didn't see that on the news, but it sounds just horrible. How could someone do something like that? I agree with you when you say this guy's an animal and he deserves a long prison sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Here is a link to a Milwaukee story on it. WGN News was promoing it during the Sox game, but I couldn't stay up past midnight to watch the news. Sort of sounds like the Seattle incident, as well as the guy who clobbered the CTA driver at Roosevelt and Kostner. One wonders why this keeps reoccurring. After looking at the video (including the news people saying that the suspect is still on the loose) I wonder (1) didn't the bus have a panic button and (2) why the bus apparently kept moving while the driver was being beaten? Wouldn't he have at least stopped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Here is a link to a Milwaukee story on it. WGN News was promoing it during the Sox game, but I couldn't stay up past midnight to watch the news. Sort of sounds like the Seattle incident, as well as the guy who clobbered the CTA driver at Roosevelt and Kostner. One wonders why this keeps reoccurring. After looking at the video (including the news people saying that the suspect is still on the loose) I wonder (1) didn't the bus have a panic button and (2) why the bus apparently kept moving while the driver was being beaten? Wouldn't he have at least stopped? I wasant on duty that day, but my truck co. responded to the Roosevelt bus incident, that bus did crash into an iron fencing. My guys told me about it the next work day. The Seattle incident was a very tragic one I remember, that operator was killed. This is very disturbing, transit bus operators are being attacked at a very alarming rate. You hear about this all to often in the media. The one thing that bothers me about the Milwaukee incident is why didnt the operator activate his silent alarm when he had the chance, Im sure theyre equipped. It is an effective tool to have on board the bus, in my CTA days Ive had to use it a couple of times, CPD responded within three minutes. Its a good tool to have and I hope this system is used in all transit agencies around the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nflyer22 Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 UGH, another one of these stories where a crazy person just walks up to a driver and hurts him/her. I mean, come on! They are actually doing something for you, taking you somewhere. I bet 99.9999% of the time they have never seen/hurt you before. I mean then, you just walk up to him/her, and then you do this! I mean, what the ____ (sorry for the strong language), how unnecessary, rude, and just plain stupid, really gets me angry when I hear another one of these stories. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 UGH, another one of these stories where a crazy person just walks up to a driver and hurts him/her. I mean, come on! They are actually doing something for you, taking you somewhere. I bet 99.9999% of the time they have never seen/hurt you before. I mean then, you just walk up to him/her, and then you do this! I mean, what the ____ (sorry for the strong language), how unnecessary, rude, and just plain stupid, really gets me angry when I hear another one of these stories. Im very infuriated about it, there is no reason for this or any other kind of violence but there are people in this world who just dont know any better. I know bus operators arent always the friendliest people you meet, Ive had my moments!, I cant speak for all of them but the ones who really try to do a good job, this shouldnt be something they have to worry about on a daily basis. But it is getting to be a trend and I hope we dont experience another Seattle type tragedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northsider Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 We need stiffer penalties for this sort of stuff. I guess the notices about the fines and jail time for assaulting CTA personnel aren't enough. It's really sad, and transit doesn't need this type of negative image more than it already has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 We need stiffer penalties for this sort of stuff. I guess the notices about the fines and jail time for assaulting CTA personnel aren't enough. It's really sad, and transit doesn't need this type of negative image more than it already has. This latest incident happened on the Milwaukee County system and not the CTA. Thank goodness for that much, but it still shouldn't have happened at all. As for the questions of why didn't he stop the bus or use the silent alarm, to be fair to him, maybe he was just in that much shock to do so. I know I was just seeing the viciousness with which he was attacked. Fortunately as the sheriff stated (I watched the video of the sheriff's comments through a link available through Busjack's link provided through here), he had enough presence of mind to be able to steer the bus into that tree instead of the one of the storefronts or gas stations that were in the area that the bus crashed. A lot more people could have been more seriously injured or in fact killed if the bus had crashed into one of those. One more thing to share with those who may not know. An attack on a CTA driver or passenger is considered a felony and carries a maximum penalty of ten years behind bars. If that has begun to fail as a deterrent here, then we all definitely need to be contacting our legislators or if need be voting in new ones to correct this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 This latest incident happened on the Milwaukee County system and not the CTA. Thank goodness for that much, but it still shouldn't have happened at all. As for the questions of why didn't he stop the bus or use the silent alarm, to be fair to him, maybe he was just in that much shock to do so. I know I was just seeing the viciousness with which he was attacked. Fortunately as the sheriff stated (I watched the video of the sheriff's comments through a link available through Busjack's link provided through here), he had enough presence of mind to be able to steer the bus into that tree instead of the one of the storefronts or gas stations that were in the area that the bus crashed. A lot more people could have been more seriously injured or in fact killed if the bus had crashed into one of those. One more thing to share with those who may not know. An attack on a CTA driver or passenger is considered a felony and carries a maximum penalty of ten years behind bars. If that has begun to fail as a deterrent here, then we all definitely need to be contacting our legislators or if need be voting in new ones to correct this. Bus operator attacks dont bring much attention since there is very little sympathy for bus operators. Unfortunately we all know it takes more than signs posted on buses for actions to take place and the reality is that attacks such as the MCTS incident and others will happen again and it usually takes for an operator to get seriously hurt or worse for the politicians to take action, actions speak louder than words!. I wonder what action if any by officials, was taken after the Seattle tragedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archon Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 I got attacked 15 years ago on RT 19 at 8th and Atkinson. Got kick in the head from behind by 5 of them. I was acuity on the radio talking to the dispatcher when it happened. To this day I still remember the bus number 2005. This was before the cameras they never caught them as they left the scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archon Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 This story just makes me so angry. Did anyone happen to catch the news and see this out of control jerk who boarded an MCTS bus and attacked the bus operator? It was captured on surveillance camera showing this lowlife animal attacking, repeatedly throwing punches at the operator. The operator was helpless as he tried to continue driving but this crazy animal kept on throwing, landing punches. What kind of society are we living in these days? This is so, so sad. I only hope this animal gets what he deserves, a long prison term, there is no justification for this kind of violence, none!. Incident happened at 60th & silver spring on a RT 76 going west. this rt is operated out of FB station. From the video it looks like the guy got on and hit the operator while loading. than went in the back of the bus. Than came back up and attacked when the bus was pulling away from the stop. The bus hit the tree on 68th & Silver spring. There have been other attacks on operators in this area the last 3 years The area has gotten very bad the last 3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Incident happened at 60th & silver spring on a RT 76 going west. this rt is operated out of FB station. From the video it looks like the guy got on and hit the operator while loading. than went in the back of the bus. Than came back up and attacked when the bus was pulling away from the stop. The bus hit the tree on 68th & Silver spring. There have been other attacks on operators in this area the last 3 years The area has gotten very bad the last 3 years. Sorry to hear about your incident. The bus in the MCTS incident looks like a New Flyer D40LF. On my trip to Milwaukee I rode that N 60th/S 70th route to the Walthers model railroad store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westing Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 What a frightening event. Attacks like these make me wonder if there is adequate protection for drivers? I notice MCTS had a driver shield on that bus and it did appear to prevent the attacker from any attempt at getting the driver out of his seat. Sadly it appears the attacker also uses it to hit the driver against. Hopefully in the future more protection can be provided for drivers to make them and the passengers safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 Unfortunately things happen to operators all the time. Alot of drivers get egged when they open their doors. I've even heard of drivers getting hit with paint balls from a gun. Halloween is likely the worst day to drive a bus in the PM, alot seems to happen on that day. With all these people acting like animals, it may be time to soon put the operator in a protective box like on the "L". Drivers along with their bus are potential targets. Unfortunately, I've seen this first hand with people throwing metal objects at windows trying to blow them out or harassing operators. Many of the punches come during a heated argument between operators and customers. People just don't think of the consequences to their actions. Maybe when they get arrested they'll wake up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 Unfortunately things happen to operators all the time. Alot of drivers get egged when they open their doors. I've even heard of drivers getting hit with paint balls from a gun. Halloween is likely the worst day to drive a bus in the PM, alot seems to happen on that day. With all these people acting like animals, it may be time to soon put the operator in a protective box like on the "L". Drivers along with their bus are potential targets. Unfortunately, I've seen this first hand with people throwing metal objects at windows trying to blow them out or harassing operators. Many of the punches come during a heated argument between operators and customers. People just don't think of the consequences to their actions. Maybe when they get arrested they'll wake up. The worst vandalism incident that happened to me was at the end of the last Bulls championship, I was working #126 Jackson that night. I was heading WB to Austin, the neighboehood was already going berserk, Im trying to get through all the people running in the street, throwing objects, im driving with caution hopin g no one would jump out in front of me when a brick went crashing through my right front windshield of Flxible bus #6134. The entire window was completely shattered, I drove through the crowd as quickly as I could. When I got to Austin I called CTA control notifying them of what happened. They instructed me to pullin. When I got to Kedzie garage there was a line of about 10 or twelve buses all with some kind of damage, mostly smashed windows. One Flxible bus arrived with almost all the windows gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nflyer22 Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 The worst vandalism incident that happened to me was at the end of the last Bulls championship, I was working #126 Jackson that night. I was heading WB to Austin, the neighboehood was already going berserk, Im trying to get through all the people running in the street, throwing objects, im driving with caution hopin g no one would jump out in front of me when a brick went crashing through my right front windshield of Flxible bus #6134. The entire window was completely shattered, I drove through the crowd as quickly as I could. When I got to Austin I called CTA control notifying them of what happened. They instructed me to pullin. When I got to Kedzie garage there was a line of about 10 or twelve buses all with some kind of damage, mostly smashed windows. One Flxible bus arrived with almost all the windows gone! Oh gosh! I've always heard of drivers being attacked and buses/trains/stations being vandalized, but never anything like this! Outrageous! Like BusHunter said, they better be caught (even if it was 10 years ago) and get what they deserve. By the way, I hope you didn't suffer too much damage and injury from that, even though that was over 10 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archon Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Sorry to hear about your incident. The bus in the MCTS incident looks like a New Flyer D40LF. On my trip to Milwaukee I rode that N 60th/S 70th route to the Walthers model railroad store. All MCTS buses are New Flyer D40LF except for 20 which are D30LF 4200 series are now out of service at this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buslover88 Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 The worst vandalism incident that happened to me was at the end of the last Bulls championship, I was working #126 Jackson that night. I was heading WB to Austin, the neighboehood was already going berserk, Im trying to get through all the people running in the street, throwing objects, im driving with caution hoping no one would jump out in front of me when a brick went crashing through my right front windshield of Flxible bus #6134. The entire window was completely shattered, I drove through the crowd as quickly as I could. When I got to Austin I called CTA control notifying them of what happened. They instructed me to pullin. When I got to Kedzie garage there was a line of about 10 or twelve buses all with some kind of damage, mostly smashed windows. One Flxible bus arrived with almost all the windows gone! That's just horrible. I wonder why the neighborhood was crazy like that (sometimes it still gets like that, but not where they throw objects like that i'm hoping) and I also wonder if the Chicago Police responded to the crazy crowd. I hope no other driver goes through what you guys endured, especially that one driver who had almost all their windows busted out on their bus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 The worst vandalism incident that happened to me was at the end of the last Bulls championship, I was working #126 Jackson that night. I was heading WB to Austin, the neighboehood was already going berserk, Im trying to get through all the people running in the street, throwing objects, im driving with caution hopin g no one would jump out in front of me when a brick went crashing through my right front windshield of Flxible bus #6134. The entire window was completely shattered, I drove through the crowd as quickly as I could. When I got to Austin I called CTA control notifying them of what happened. They instructed me to pullin. When I got to Kedzie garage there was a line of about 10 or twelve buses all with some kind of damage, mostly smashed windows. One Flxible bus arrived with almost all the windows gone! Wow, I'm surprised you weren't cut by flying glass. I've heard of operators getting glass in their eyes when this happens. (That was on 79th.) Nothing to play around with. I'm glad you weren't injured. The good news is that now that the non etching film is on the windows they shouldn't break the same, into a thousand little pieces. The windows are stronger and can take more abuse before breaking out. They usually just crack or shatter in place. This way everyone including customers can stay safe. Your story sort of reminds me of something similar I saw on the Red line at Howard station one day while waiting for my Yellow line connection. While waiting all of a sudden in comes car #2613 with all the windows broke out except for about 3 or 4. The car was in the middle of an 8 car train in service, but had all of it's interior lights off and a CTA employee standing on the car to keep civilians out of it. I was very shocked to see this to say the least. The car had looked as if it had came back from battle with all of it's weather stripping just hanging everywhere. Even the door windows were broke. Totally unbelieveable!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 That's just horrible. I wonder why the neighborhood was crazy like that (sometimes it still gets like that, but not where they throw objects like that i'm hoping) and I also wonder if the Chicago Police responded to the crazy crowd. I hope no other driver goes through what you guys endured, especially that one driver who had almost all their windows busted out on their bus. It was an annual ritual in different neighborhoods across the city to have people go crazy like that when the Bulls would win a championship. It got to the point where once the Bulls made it to the championships and it was a sure bet they would win, that Michael Jordan and the other members of the Bulls at the time would make public service announcements asking people to keep the celebrations civil and not give the city a bad name with the madness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 It was an annual ritual in different neighborhoods across the city to have people go crazy like that when the Bulls would win a championship. It got to the point where once the Bulls made it to the championships and it was a sure bet they would win, that Michael Jordan and the other members of the Bulls at the time would make public service announcements asking people to keep the celebrations civil and not give the city a bad name with the madness. That night Ill never forget, it looked like the L.A. riots, you had lots of unrest, cars on fire, police in riot gear, some gunfire was heard, people acting insane and not respecting police authority. I remember going west on Jackson seeing cars burning, people running in the middle of the street, people riding on the roofs of cars, I even caught one individual hanging onto the side of my bus. It was just too much, then when the brick came flying through I said to myself, "expletive" this!" I got out of there as quickly as I could. The worst area was from Jackson/Pulaski to Cicero ave. I talked to a female CTA operator working out there with me who said a man walked past the front of her bus and pointed a pistol at her, she was so scared. I was scared too, my biggest fear was stray bullet flying through the bus and striking me or one of my passengers. That is one night in the seven years I worked at CTA Ill never forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 I just saw a video clip on ABC7 News obtained from an MCTS bus showing a 15 year old kid getting kicked and beaten by a group of up to 5 other 15 and 16 year olds while he was on his way home from school. He was just minding his own business and wham, these other kids just start pummeling and kicking him. The incident occurred on May 29. What is going on up there in Milwaukee that passengers and drivers have to fear for their safety because others want to start acting like animals. Four of the offenders are in custody and police are searching for the fifth. I say prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law possible even if they have to try these punks as adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPTA42 Posted June 6, 2008 Report Share Posted June 6, 2008 That night Ill never forget... What's the protocol in such an event? Is an operator allowed to skip stops or entirely scratch a run because of a riot, or would that operator get disciplined? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buslover88 Posted June 7, 2008 Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 What's the protocol in such an event? Is an operator allowed to skip stops or entirely scratch a run because of a riot, or would that operator get disciplined? Okay this is offending because ... well ... what would YOU do if YOU were driving a bus in the middle of a RIOT? I don't think you'd just drive all rountinely through the large crowd, would you? I think CTA5750 had every right to drive through the riot because if he didn't, he'd put his passengers and himself in danger. Personally, I wouldn't care if I were disciplined because my life and others' lives would have been put in danger of glass breaking, bricks flying through the windows, shots fired and everything else. So tell me, what YOU do in a riot if you were a bus driving? :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted June 7, 2008 Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 Okay this is offending because ... well ... what would YOU do if YOU were driving a bus in the middle of a RIOT? I don't think you'd just drive all rountinely through the large crowd, would you? I think CTA5750 had every right to drive through the riot because if he didn't, he'd put his passengers and himself in danger. Personally, I wouldn't care if I were disciplined because my life and others' lives would have been put in danger of glass breaking, bricks flying through the windows, shots fired and everything else. So tell me, what YOU do in a riot if you were a bus driving? I don't think RIPTA42 was criticizing any decisions, but rather simply wondering what official CTA policy is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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