Yesterday an MTA supervisor caught a bus operator talking on his cell phone, holding a water bottle and driving, all at the same time. But instead of commending the driver for his unstoppable multi-tasking skillz, supervisor Joseph Merwin played the heavy, ordering the driver to pull over and confronting him. That's when bus operator Johnny Miller, 37, of Brooklyn, reportedly blew a fuse.
By-the-book supervisor Merwin had been driving alongside Miller as he headed west on Sunrise Highway at about 12:45 p.m. Nobody was on the bus when Merwin flagged down Miller, who hadn't yet started his route, so there were no witnesses to his alleged assault. But Rockville Centre police department spokesman tells Newsday that after Merwin reprimanded him, Miller "got very upset," and shattered a bus window with his fist. Then he allegedly "threw his supervisor into the front windshield," breaking a mirror.
This story should end with Miller kicking Merwin off the bus and going rogue, maybe driving to Connecticut to pick up Rip Torn for a madcap, cross-country roadtrip climaxing in a hail of bullets. Instead, Merwin simply walked back to his car and got the cops to arrest Miller without incident. He's charged with misdemeanor assault and a felony charge of third-degree criminal mischief, and was being held on $500 bail.
It's a tough break for the bus driver, who was only on the job for five months and was already on extended probation. But it must be even harder for his poor mother, who only found out about the incident when a Newsday reporter rang. "He was always good to me," she said. Below, for reference purposes, video of a bus driver crashing while texting:
Bus Driver Crashes While Texting - Watch more Funny Videos
