Teen faces felony in Metro Transit driver assault
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The 16-year-old who allegedly punched a Metro Transit bus driver causing severe injuries has been charged in Hennepin County District Court.
Authorities charged the teen with felony third-degree assault. The petition in the court's juvenile division comes a few days after the boy allegedly hit the bus driver while the bus was stopped by Southdale mall in Edina after the driver told him and a group of other teenagers they couldn't board the bus.
According to the complaint, the driver sustained a laceration over his left eye and was bleeding profusely. An EMT told police the driver's vision may have been permanently compromised.
The juvenile approached the bus as it was starting to pull forward in a transit center. He was with a group of four others when one of them struck the bus to get it to stop.
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The driver, identified in the petition as 61-year-old A.H., stopped to tell the group he wasn't loading the bus. An argument ensued and the driver exchanged vulgar language with the group.
The bus driver then stepped out of the bus carrying a can of soda. One of the juveniles knocked it out of his hands and another "struck the driver on his head with a blow from his fist," the complaint said.
The blow caused him to fall to the pavement and the teen hit him three more times with his fist, according to the complaint.
The group ran from the area and police located them a short time later. They interviewed the juvenile who said he was upset and struck the driver in the face with his fist, according to the complaint.
Authorities say bus surveillance captured the confrontation and vulgar language.