A man has been arrested and charged after attacking a bus driver in lower Manhattan Saturday, according to police.

Rashon Eagle, 45, attacked the 58-year-old M15 bus driver Saturday just after noon, police said. The attack was caught on camera by Anthony Osamor, a Statue of Liberty cruise ticket seller.

"The driver was trying to tell him, 'Get off the bus. Get out from the bus,'" Osamor told NY1.

What You Need To Know

  • A man was angry that a bus driver was not going fast enough
  • Rashon Eagle got off the M15 bus and then got back on and punched the driver
  • Eagle then pulled out a knife, but the bus driver disarmed the attacker
  • Eagle was arrested and charged with assault, criminal obstruction and menacing

Osamor says he was worried for the driver, but was not able to do anything. Osamor's colleague called police.

"I was scared," Osamor said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says Eagle started yelling and cursing at the driver for not going fast enough.

When the bus arrived at South Ferry at around noon, Eagle got out of the bus, got back back on, punched the driver and pulled out a knife, according to the MTA.

“I feel so bad for him, because his eyeball was red — full of blood," Osamor said. "Because he brought out a knife — I think a pen knife.”

The driver defended himself and disarmed Eagle, holding him until police arrived at the scene of the crime.

Eagle was then arrested, and he has been charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing and menacing. Anyone convicted of assaulting a public transportation worker can face up to seven years in prison.

Riders of the M15 bus told NY1 that they have seen other assaults on the bus. One woman said she herself has been a victim.

"Yes, it worries me," said bus rider Carmen Gutierrez. "The last time I was on the bus, I got punched because I asked a guy if I can get the seat because he had a bag on there. I had to call the cops and everything. A lot of people got to be careful nowadays on transit”

According to the MTA, there were 70 assaults on MTA workers on buses last year. There were 76 in 2022.

In a statement, Frank Annicaro, the senior vice president of the New York City Transit Department of Buses and MTA Bus Company, said the attack was "outrageous, utterly unacceptable and could easily have turned tragic."

"It is lunacy for anyone to take out frustration for traffic congestion on a transit employee just trying to drive New Yorkers where they need to go, and intolerable that a bus operator suffered injuries to his face requiring hospital treatment as a result," Annicaro said.