An MTA bus driver accused of punching a 16-year-old boy on a bicycle for interfering with his Brooklyn route broke the victim’s nose, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The teen also suffered two black eyes in the Monday night clash on Bay Parkway near E. Second St. in Borough Park, prosecutors said.
Michael Brown, 42, was charged with assault, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment for the 9:35 p.m. incident.
Union officials said the teen provoked the clash.
“[He] was hanging onto a bus as it was being driven,” Gary Rosario, vice president of the bus division for Transport Workers Union Local 100, said about the teen. “The operator saw the cyclist in the mirror and stopped the bus. When the operator addressed the cyclist about the unsafe condition, the situation escalated. The incident is still under investigation.”
Location where MTA bus was parked at E. Second St. and Bay Parkway in Borough Park. (Emma Seiwell / New York Daily News)
Brown punched the multiple times in the face, breaking the boy’s nose, court papers say.
Cops called to the dustup arrested Brown without incident. Medics took the teen to Maimonides Medical Center,
Brown lives in Hollis, Queens, according to cops. He was released without bail following his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Tuesday. A call to his attorney was not immediately returned.
“Preliminary reports indicate the cyclist was endangering passengers by engaging in reckless behavior before escalating the situation,” MTA spokesman Tim Minton said Tuesday. “All facts should be considered.”