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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah Transit Authority bus driver was hospitalized after allegedly being assaulted by a cyclist on Thursday afternoon, a UTA spokesman said.
Authority spokesman Carl Arky said a bus passed the cyclist on 900 East at 1000 South in Salt Lake City. When the bus came to the next stop, the cyclist came up to the driver's window and started yelling, then pushed the side-view mirror in, he said.
The driver then got out to fix it, and was allegedly pushed to the ground by the cyclist, Arky said.
A witness said he saw the rider yelling and screaming at the driver while putting his finger in his face, and saw him shove the driver on his back. He said several other witnesses came to the driver's aid and called an ambulance. The witness said the driver seemed to be in his 60s or 70s.
Arky said the driver — who he identified as Paul Bateman — was taken to the hospital with a broken hip, and may need surgery.
The cyclist left the scene, Arky said, but later called authorities and said he was the one involved in the incident. Arky said he doesn't know if UTA police have arrested the cyclist.
