Cleveland Bus Driver Uppercut: Man Suspended For Striking Woman (VIDEO)
Cleveland, OH – a cell phone video showing a bus driver for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) delivering an uppercut to an unruly 25 year old female passenger on September 18, went viral this week after being posted to YouTube and Worldstarhiphop.com.
The passenger boarded the bus without the fare claiming she had forgotten her backpack containing either money for the fare or a bus pass.
The woman, Shidea N. Lane, was found to be taunting the bus driver, 22-year bus veteran Artis Hughes, and proceeded to claw his throat and punch his face. It was at this time that Hughes punched Lane in the jaw and removed her from the bus.
Upon having the incident gain national attention, the Greater Cleveland RTA suspended Hughes without pay.
Hughes was seen in the video responding to the shocked passengers by saying the following in reference to Lane: “She want to be a man, I’m gonna treat you like a man.”
WKYC obtained a full statement from the RTA. It reads:
RTA saw the video posted on YouTube of the operator incident on October 11. Through the investigation, we believe the incident occurred on Sept. 18. Upon identifying the driver, he was immediately suspended and removed from duty. His behavior is absolutely unacceptable. RTA apologizes to our customers for this incident. A full investigation continues.
