Man charged in assault on Metrobus driver at Huntington station

The Metro Transit Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the assault on a Metrobus driver last week outside Huntington station. 

Michael Steven Powell, Jr., 27, faces a charge of felony malicious bodily injury, as well as misdemeanor assault and battery, according an MTPD press release. Powell is a Richmond Highway-area resident, according to Fairfax County General District court records.

Powell allegedly punched the driver in the face, breaking her tooth, as the bus sat outside the station shortly before midnight on April 25. The incident was first publicized on April 30 after the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents Metrobus operators, said someone took a Yellow Line train from the Braddock Road station in the City of Alexandria to Huntington and attacked the driver. The union said the rider was upset about missing the 10A bus at Braddock Road, and followed the driver to Huntington.    

Powell is also accused of assaulting a passenger on the bus, the MTPD said. The passenger did not require medical attention.

The MTPD said that detectives used video footage from aboard the bus to help identify Powell, and noted that all buses have digital camera systems installed. An arrest warrant was issued last night, and Powell was taken into custody Tuesday evening without incident, the police said. 

The assault on the driver comes amid rising concerns from the union that not enough is being done to protect bus operators. The union also blasted Metro leaders for not publicizing the last week’s assault sooner.

“It has been almost a week since this incident and the leadership at Metro has done very little to inform the public that this happened. We find that unacceptable,” ATU Local 689 Second Vice President Raymond Jackson said Monday.