\u201cSuddenly, I had a blow in my face … I couldn\u2019t even see. I just had a blow, punch, a strong punch, and that\u2019s all,\u201d Swami said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was blank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inspector Warrick Adkin said police have charged a teenager over an assault at the station. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome of our Community Engagement Team were carrying out a patrol of the bus station when they came across two young people fighting,\u201d Adkin said. <\/p>\n
Police separated the pair and detained one of them. <\/p>\n
He said the second person moved away inside the bus station and continued to act aggressively.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has repeatedly ignored police instructions, and while inside the bus station, he has allegedly assaulted a member of the public,\u201d Adkin said.<\/p>\n
Swami compared the situation to the way movies depict what people see when they are hit. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey see some kind of stars. I saw that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was blank and went unconscious a few minutes. All that I saw was blood oozing from my nose and mouth,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The man\u2019s wife, Sneha, told the Herald her husband had just started a new job with the bus company after beginning his training in August. <\/p>\n
She said that when she received the phone call from her husband, she and her children were in complete shock. <\/p>\n
After being rushed to hospital, Swami spent hours in Middlemore Hospital and wasn\u2019t able to go home till 4am the next day. <\/p>\n
A bus driver, in just the first few months of his job, was brutally attacked and knocked out cold. Photo \/ Hayden Woodward<\/p>\n
Swami said he suffered a broken nose and damage to his cheekbone and eyes. <\/p>\n
He currently can\u2019t open his left eye due to significant swelling. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe stand thinking nobody is there. Suddenly, someone is coming and punching you. It can happen to anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the public don\u2019t want to take public transport because of these issues. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople should be allowed to walk freely,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Since his hospital care, his wife said he hasn\u2019t been able to speak openly about the incident. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in shock, he\u2019s traumatised. I mean, it really affects the family, environment, as well as financial wise, everything,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
An Auckland Transport spokesperson said they were aware of the incident, and the bus company is supporting the driver who was injured.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one should be subjected to this kind of violence during their workday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are assisting police with their enquiries and note that the matter is now before the court,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n
Ritches has been approached for comment. <\/p>\n