New York City bus driver knocked out by passenger he told to wear a mask

A New York City bus driver was reportedly knocked out by an unmasked rider after he reminded the passenger to wear a face covering on public transit. 

Anthony Reid says that a group of passengers complained on his last run in Brooklyn one night in July that a fellow rider was not wearing a face mask. After Reid, 62, pulled over and called the man out, he said that everything went dark. 

“It was a calm exchange with him, but then he just knocked me out cold,” Reid told The New York Times in an interview published Friday.

Reid said that he woke up in an ambulance with the taste of blood in his mouth and a swollen eye. The paramedics told him that the mask-less rider had attacked him from behind. 

New York has begun to emerge from a strict set of lockdown and mitigation measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. However, an order from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in April requires that passengers on public transit wear masks or face coverings due to people standing in close proximity. That requirement has yet to be lifted. 

The Times reported that the attack on Reid is just one of many experienced by New York City public transit workers. More than 170 transit workers have allegedly experienced attacks for trying to enforce coronavirus rules. Ninety-five percent of these violent incidences have taken place on buses, according to the paper, and two people have been charged for attacking transit workers. 

The attacks have become so frequent that transportation officials have considered issuing $50 fines for people who refuse to comply with mask orders.