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'About 10 of these kids jumped me,' MBTA bus driver told dispatchers

Print | Comments () Posted by John Ellement April 12, 2011 09:36 AM

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By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

At 3:12 p.m. Monday, an MBTA bus driver currently known only as Operator 2157 made a radio call to the dispatcher, his voice tinged with anxiety and irritation.

Audio

Listen to the bus driver's report of the incident:

Listen to a bus passenger's 911 call:

"This is Operator 2157. Could you send police to my position right away?'' he said in the conversation released by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority today. "I have a situation that needs to be dealt with right away. Right away.''

The T dispatcher asked for details and 2157 provided them. "I have unruly passengers, a couple of kids smoking. I'm at Dudley [Street] and Hampden [Street.] Please get them here right away.''

The operator is off the air for the next few minutes until he calls dispatch again. Now, he sounds in pain, and fear is evident in his voice.

"Attention. This is 2157,'' he says. "I was just assaulted. Got knocked out. Got my head smashed into the window. I'm still at the same location. There is a kid with his foot underneath the bus. About 10 of these kids jumped me.''

While the driver thought his bus was still on the street, the bus had, in fact, slammed into a building on Dudley Street.

According to the time stamps, the episode lasted seven minutes.

The T also released a recording of a 911 call made by a woman who had gotten off the Route 15 bus after the teens boarded while smoking cigarettes. She said she had asthma and could not tolerate being in a confined space with secondhand smoke.

“He has been assaulted by a bunch of teenagers on the bus,’’ she said.

“Are they actually hitting him and stuff?’’ the dispatcher asked the unidentified woman.
“They were hitting him,’’ she said. “Oh, my God, he was almost getting into an accident.’’

MBTA officials said today no arrests have been made in the case but an extensive investigation is underway.

Five people, including the bus driver, were transported to Boston hospitals with minor injuries.

John Lee, president of the Boston Carmen's Union Local 589, said in a statement, "The escalating number of assaults and physical confrontations directed against my members is disturbing and unacceptable."

He said the union planned to file legislation that would toughen the laws relating to assaults on MBTA employees.