PORT ANGELES — A man accused of beating up an elderly Clallam Transit passenger and the driver who came to her aid was charged Thursday with assault and other crimes.
Riley Edge White, 59, of Port Angeles will be arraigned next Friday on two counts of second-degree assault and single counts of first-degree attempted kidnapping and first-degree attempted robbery.
White is accused of attacking an 80-year-old acquaintance, Angeline Olsen, and Clallam Transit operator Joy Crummett before trying to commandeer a bus in West Port Angeles at about 1:47 p.m. Saturday.
Port Angeles police said Crummett saw White hitting Olsen in a rear view mirror, parked the bus on the 1600 block of West 16th Street and separated the two, police said.
Turned attack on driver
White then punched and choked Crummett, yelling, “You are evicted off this bus!” to other passengers, police Cpl. David Dombrowski wrote in an affidavit for probable cause.
The 60-year-old driver was able to free herself from White’s grip and jump out the front door before it closed, police said.
White tried to start the bus, but Crummett had shut off the battery, locking him inside.
He was arrested without further incident.
White is being held in the Clallam County jail on $30,000 bail.
Olsen, who was bleeding profusely after the attack, and Crummett were treated and discharged from Olympic Medical Center on Saturday.
One of the assault charges was for strangulation and the other was for inflicting substantial bodily harm on a vulnerable victim, Clallam County Chief Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin said.
Witness accounts
Four witnesses who were seated near the back of the bus had “virtually the exact same story,” Dombrowski wrote in court papers.
“They saw White get up and pounce on Olsen,” Dombrowski said. “He bashed her head in the side of the bus walls and then on the floor when they fell down.
“White repeatedly beat Olsen’s head on the floor,” Dombrowski added. “The bus driver then got up and intervened.”
The attack was captured on Clallam Transit surveillance video.
“There was a very large amount of blood on the floor, walls and handrails inside the bus,” Dombrowski said in the arrest report.
“Small pools and drops of blood and large smears were everywhere.”
Olsen told police that she knew White “a little bit” and had given him her phone number. She said she sat opposite White near the front of the bus.
“Suddenly, without any warning, Olsen felt a crushing blow on her head,” Dombrowski said.
“White’s body was on top of her and he began delivering blow after blow on her head.
“She fell to the floor with White still on top of her and he began slamming her head on the floor,” Dombrowski continued.
“He attacked her hands and any flesh he could find of hers while she was on the floor.”
Olsen told police that she remembered White yelling, “I could have killed you right here!”
Crummett told police that she heard White saying, “I’m going to beat you… kill you!” to Olsen, Dombrowski said.
After separating White and Olsen, Crummett was thrown against a change machine. She was repeatedly choked and punched, Dombrowski said.
Crummett said she nearly passed out from being choked.
“With one blow, White knocked Crummett’s glasses off during the beating,” Dombrowski said.
A woman who was walking near the bus told police that White yelled “You’re next” to her.
To be evaluated
At his initial court appearance Tuesday, White was ordered to undergo an evaluation by Peninsula Behavioral Health professionals.
Should he post bail, White is ordered to have no contact with Olsen, the bus driver and the pedestrian he allegedly threatened.
White sat quietly in a 10-minute court hearing Thursday wearing an orange jail-issue uniform and handcuffs.
Devlin, who had reviewed the Clallam Transit surveillance video, asked the court to raise White’s bail to $100,000 based on community safety concerns.
“We’re actually very lucky that Ms. Olsen only suffered a fracture to her nose and was not more severely injured than she was,” Devlin said.
Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly denied the motion for a higher bail. He said the allegations were “very serious” but White had been unable to post a $30,000 bail.
“He’s still in custody,” Melly said.
“I don’t see any reason to increase the bail at this point. What the court’s interested in seeing now is what Peninsula Behavioral Health’s review, or evaluation, will establish.”
Driver recovering
Clallam Transit General Manager Wendy Clark-Getzin said the driver is recovering from her injuries at home.
She added that White has been served exclusionary papers preventing him from riding Clallam Transit buses.
“We did that in order to protect our bus operators,” Clark-Getzin said Wednesday.
White can appeal the exclusion in three years.
Crummett was nominated for Clallam Transit’s Employee of the Year award in 2015.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
