(posted 7219 days ago)South London Press
Passengers terrified in bus ambush
Jul 20 2004
By Chris PragnellSCREAMING bus passengers thought they were being shot at when louts hurled a brick and bottles through the wind-screen to "teach the driver a lesson".
Witnesses dived for cover under the seats as three youths ambushed the N159 night bus near Kennington Park.
Miraculously, the driver, in his 20s, suffered only minor cuts despite being showered with glass.
Passengers said the gang tried to sneak onto the double-decker late at night in central London but were caught by the driver.
It is thought the thugs either hailed a cab or caught a later N3 bus and were able to overtake the N159.
Brian Reid, 28, was waiting to get off the bus at the Southern end of Kennington Road early yesterday morning.
"Suddenly there were these massive cracks and the sound of breaking glass," he said. "People thought it was a drive-by shooting at first. "Then I saw the driver crouching in his cabin covered in glass.
"He was pretty shaken but seemed okay. The brick could have killed him."
Mr Reid said: "They must have been hiding and waiting to ambush him. They must have been trying to teach the driver a lesson." The attack, at 12.30am, has been condemned by bosses at Arriva buses.
Dave Jones, commercial support manager for Arriva London, said: "We are working with police to try to apprehend and prosecute those responsible and will be providing CCTV footage to them. "Our driver was unhurt but shocked by the incident."