Man Accused of Blocking School Bus, Jumping on Hood
Police say the motorist forced the bus to stop in the middle of the Massachusetts Turnpike and attempted to board, but the bus driver denied him entry.
NEWTON, Mass. — A Massachusetts man faces multiple charges after police say he halted a school bus in the middle of a highway and climbed onto the hood on Friday.
According to the Massachusetts State Police, the 42-year-old man was traveling on the Massachusetts Turnpike in a 1999 Toyota Corolla when he stopped in the middle lane, forcing a school bus behind him to stop. There were no students on the bus at the time.
Investigators learned that the motorist got out of his car and tried to board the school bus through the passenger door, but the bus driver denied him entry. The bus driver tried to drive away, but the man allegedly walked in front of the bus and jumped onto the hood. According to police, the man eventually got off the hood, and the school bus driver was able to drive away.
The Massachusetts State Police said they identified the driver of the Toyota. The suspect has since been charged with disorderly conduct, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, failure to use care in stopping, and marked lanes violation. Police also submitted a request to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles for an "immediate threat license suspension/revocation."
The Massachusetts State Police did not give any indication of why the motorist allegedly confronted the school bus. However, the driver of the bus, Joe Rizoli, told CBS Boston that the man was yelling to ask him why the bus has dark windows.
“I just think he needs help,” Rizoli, a school bus driver since 1979, told the news source. “It was so dangerous for all of us — for him, for me, the people behind us could have smashed into us.”
Meanwhile, 7 News interviewed the motorist who is charged in the incident, identified as Kevin Crowe.
“I wanted to make sure that the passengers of that bus were safe,” Crowe told 7News. “I looked through the front windshield because that was the only window which was not so tinted.”
Rizoli had a dashcam on the windshield of his bus, which captured the incident on video. Footage from the camera can be seen in the CBS Boston report below.
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