The British Columbia woman who was arrested after allegedly threatening to kill a mother and her three children following a violent confrontation on a city bus has been charged with assault, assault with a weapon and uttering threats.
Witnesses say the woman, Leah MacKay, boarded a Langley bus on Tuesday and got into an argument with the bus driver when she refused to pay her fare.
When the mother of three complained about the profane language used, MacKay allegedly threatened the mother and then tossed a drink in the direction of the baby. This led to an altercation caught on video.
Hanna Koekman, who shot the video, said the bus driver then pulled over to the side of the road.
“He just kind of stood there and watched them, he didn’t intervene, nobody really did,” Koekman told CTV Vancouver.
In the video shot by Koekman, the bus driver can be seen standing near the women during the altercation.
Koekman said the bus driver then ordered both women to get off at the same stop.
Witnesses say MacKay allegedly chased the mother through a mall parking lot with what looked like a knife, before knocking down a two-year-old and four-year-old girl.
And while Koekman wonders if the bus driver should have let the mother and her children stay on the bus, TransLink officials -- Vancouver’s transportation authority -- said the driver acted appropriately.
“They’re trained not to engage directly in conflict because in many cases, it may actually escalate the problem,” TransLink COO Doug Kelsey told CTV Vancouver. “The bus operator deserves a lot of credit for trying to help manage the situation.”
Kelsey said the driver also phoned the TransLink control centre and asked operators to call 9-1-1.
With a report by CTV Vancouver
