PORT TOWNSEND — A 21-year-old man visiting from China attacked and injured two Jefferson Transit bus drivers Sunday afternoon at Haines Place Park and Ride and was being held Monday for mental evaluation at a Bremerton institution.
Police Sgt. Ed Green identified the man as Yang Li, saying Port Townsend police would recommend that the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office file two charges of third-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree assault on a child against Yang.
The attack occurred just before 5 p.m. Sunday. Charging documents were sent off Monday to the prosecuting attorney, Green said.
The first driver injured was identified as Charlene Buckley, 49, who received bruises and contusion and a damaged tooth in the attack.
Another nearby bus driver, Alice Lane, 54, came to Buckley’s aid at the park and ride and received similar injuries.
A 12-year-old girl who was waiting outside the bus at the time of the attack received a foot injury during the fracas, Green said.
“The guy just boarded the bus and started swinging. He just started throwing punches,” Jefferson Transit General Manager Dave Turissini said.
“Alice was there soon after the incident started, and she tried to get the guy off of Charlene,” Turissini said.
“This is the first such attack, to my knowledge, in [Jefferson] Transit’s history. We intend to prosecute this individual to the fullest extent.
‘Intolerable behavior’
“We will not stand for this type of behavior, and we will give our drivers all the protection we can. This is intolerable behavior.”
A 30-year-old man, acting as a good Samaritan but whose name was not released by Green, was standing nearby and finally grabbed Yang, holding him down until police arrived.
Turissini said Buckley was taken by ambulance to Jefferson Healthcare hospital, and Lane was taken by her supervisor to the hospital, where both were treated for their injuries Sunday night and released.
Green said the assailant spoke little or no English, and an interpreter was having a problem figuring out the reason why the man attacked the driver.
“No one knows why he attacked the bus driver,” Green said. “We have no idea what set him off.”
Green said the man resisted police officers when they arrived at the scene and he had to be subdued.
Turissini said last year Jefferson Transit drivers were trained in how to defend themselves in an attack while driving a bus.
“Charlene said the training she received last year helped her to defend herself,” Turissini said.
The drive sent out an “emergency protocol message” on her radio, which is received by JeffComm dispatchers in an emergency and automatically forwarded to police.
“It shocked us,” Turissini added.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com
