By Fred Hanson
The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Mass.
RANDOLPH, Mass. — A Boston man has been charged with assaulting a bus driver, which caused a crash that left 16 people injured Monday evening, officials said.
Matthew Young, 24, of Boston faces charges of wrongful interference in the operation of a vehicle carrying passengers for hire for a felony, assault and battery on a bus driver, and assault and battery resulting in serious bodily injury. Young is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Tuesday in Quincy District Court.
The incident took place at around 7:15 p.m. Monday on a Brockton Area Transit bus headed to Brockton from Ashmont Station in Dorchester, Randolph Police Chief William Pace and Randolph Fire Chief Richard Donovan said in a statement.
Young allegedly punched the driver after he would not stop the bus and let the man off. The bus rear-ended a car and then struck a utility pole in front of First Baptist Church on North Main Street, officials said.
The 16-people who were injured were all transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Randolph Police declared a mass casualty-incident as a result of the number of injuries.
Among the injured was the driver of the bus, a 48-year-old Brockton man, a 10-year-old Randolph boy who was a passenger on the bus, and the driver of the car and her passenger. The driver of the car was a 50-year-old Randolph woman and her passenger was a 61-year-old Randolph woman.
“This attack on the driver made for a very dangerous situation for riders on the bus and anyone traveling in the immediate area,” Pace said in the statement. “Officers on scene were able to take the suspect into custody quickly.”
The Stoughton, Avon and Holbrook Fire Departments provided mutual aid at the scene. Donovan thanked the departments for their assistance.
“Our firefighters and police responded to this incident swiftly, and as a result, we were able to transport the victims of this incident to area hospitals in a timely, effective manner,” Donovan said.
The BAT buses operate on routes with fixed stops, and the driver was not able to let Young off at his desired location, officials said.
The incident remains under investigation by Randolph police. The car sustained rear-end damage and was towed from the scene. A bike rack and bike on the front of the bus were damaged.
North Main Street in the area of the incident was closed for about an hour while police officers and firefighters responded to the crash.
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©2019 The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Mass.