Massachusetts

Bus Crashes After Passenger Punches Driver, Randolph Police Say

A bus crashed Monday after a passenger punched the driver, according to police in Randolph, Massachusetts.

The Brockton Area Transit bus rear-ended a car and hit a utility pole on North Main Street around 7:15 p.m. Authorities learned that 24-year-old Matthew Young of Boston had allegedly assaulted the driver, leading to the crash.

Police said Young attacked the driver, a 48-year-old Brockton man, because he was not allowed to get off the bus where he wanted. Officials noted that the BAT follows a fixed route and the driver was not able to stop.

Sixteen people were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, prompting police to declare a mass casualty incident. Two Randolph women who were in the car that the bus hit were among those hospitalized, as were the bus driver and a 10-year-old Randolph boy who was on board.

"This attack on the driver made for a very dangerous situation for riders on the bus and anyone traveling in the immediate area," Randolph Police Chief William Pace said in a statement.

The crash caused North Main Street to close for about an hour.

Young is charged with wrongful interference of operation of a vehicle carrying passengers for hire, a felony. He also faces charges of assault and battery on a bus driver and assault and battery resulting in serious bodily injury.

He is due to be arraigned Tuesday at Quincy District Court. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

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