A BUS driver was left with serious injuries after being bashed by five teenagers in a brutal attack outside Werribee Plaza last week.
The man, aged in his 40s, was punched in the head, kicked in the ribs and thrown to the ground after confronting the group he caught ‘tagging’ the exterior of his bus about 5.30pm on April 10.
The Westrans driver, who asked not to be named, suffered a possible fractured rib, injuries to his hip, a strained left arm and grazes and scars to his elbows and forehead.
He was punched multiple times before being knocked unconscious.
“I blacked out for about 12 seconds, waking up on the road to one or all of the guys laying the boot into me,” he said.
“The first one that really connected was the one that landed on my chest, which felt like somebody hit me with a sledgehammer.”
Despite frantic calls to police, he was left bleeding on the side of the road for an hour before his wife drove from Wyndham Vale to take him to the Werribee Mercy Hospital.
“I’m totally disappointed in the police. I know they’re understaffed, but they couldn’t come to help a bus driver in the middle of Werribee?
“My concern is that if had been more serious and the police didn’t arrive, I could be dead.
“What it boils down to is that I won’t get involved in situations like this and put myself at risk ever again.”
Sergeant Anthony Henderson of Werribee police said they were examining footage from surveillance cameras fitted to the bus and were appealing for witnesses.
“All the fellow was trying to do was to do his job and prevent his bus being tagged and for his trouble he’s been belted in the face,” he said.
Westrans spokesman Rob Frail said while assaults on its drivers were rare, the company was concerned about the safety of its drivers and passengers.
“[There are] security cameras installed in all route service buses as a means of identifying those involved in antisocial behaviour,” he said.
