Bus passenger accused of attacking driver before crash into building
A Madison woman is accused of attacking a city bus driver
By Tanner Kahler
Click here for updates on this story
MADISON, Wisconsin (WISN) — A Madison woman is accused of attacking a city bus driver, causing him to crash into a restaurant last month.
Raeven Johnson, 24, faces several charges, including second-degree recklessly endangering safety, attempted battery to a public transit operator and obstructing an officer.
The crash happened Feb. 25 at Dempsey Road and Milwaukee Street in Madison. The city bus had driven halfway into a building that houses Asian House restaurant and QPS Employment Group. The rear half of the bus could be seen from Milwaukee Street.
According to a criminal complaint, one bus passenger was taken to a hospital with injuries following the crash.
Investigators spoke to the bus driver after the crash, who said a passenger attacked him while he was behind the wheel because the woman wanted to be dropped off somewhere the bus was not going.
According to the complaint, surveillance video from the Metro bus shows Johnson hitting the bus driver multiple times unprovoked. As the driver tried to go east on Milwaukee, the driver had hold of Johnson’s arm, trying to prevent her from hitting him.
“The defendant was able to get her hand free and strike (the driver) again in the head, causing him to lose control of the bus and crash into the building,” the complaint said. “When this happened, the defendant lost her wig that she was wearing during the incident. Once the bus hit the building, the defendant again started striking (the driver), and at one point grabbed (the driver) from the back of the collar of his shirt, ripping him out of the driver’s seat of the bus.”
Responding officers could not find the woman at the crash scene.
Police later identified Johnson as the accused attacker based on a separate police incident that happened one day earlier in which Johnson was wearing the same clothing seen on bus surveillance video, the complaint said.
Officers arrested Johnson during a traffic stop on March 4.
She appeared in court on March 5. The court set her bond at $6,000. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 12.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
