A 17-year-old North Vancouver boy has been put on probation for a year and told to stay off public transit when he's drunk after pleading guilty to assaulting a bus driver.
The boy - 16 at the time of the assault - was one of three teens who got into a brawl with a driver on a late-night bus, eventually dragging the driver on to the sidewalk where the boy kicked and stomped him.
The attack happened just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 27 last year, when the driver picked up three drunk teens at a stop near Mountain Highway and Lynn Valley Road. The youth carried liquor on board. When the driver stopped the bus near Grand Boulevard and 15th Street, the group became agitated because they couldn't open the rear door, said Crown counsel Linda Ostry.
The bus driver reported that a teenaged girl who was part of the group then came to the front of the bus and punched him on the side of the head, said Ostry. At that point, the driver hit a special panic button onboard that activated an audio recording.
The teen boys apparently took offence at the driver's elbowing the girl out of his way and a fight started, during which "all three youth began to pummel him," said Ostry.
After leaving the driver on the sidewalk, the teens fled, but were soon spotted by police a few blocks away. The teen boy had cuts on his knuckles, said Ostry.
The driver was taken to Lions Gate Hospital and released with bruises and minor injuries.
In a victim impact statement, the driver said the attack had ended his career as a bus driver.
Defence lawyer David Walsoff asked for leniency for the boy, a high school student who has no prior record.
Walsoff said it's still not clear exactly what happened that night, but added alcohol was a significant factor.
"If he hadn't drunk half a twenty-sixer, this wouldn't have happened," said Walsoff.
Judge Carol Baird Ellan told the teen the bus driver "doesn't think you should get a slap on the wrist. If it was up to him, you'd be going to jail."
But she added, "I don't see you as a hardened criminal."
The judge ordered the teen to do 30 hours of community service and write an apology letter to the driver. In addition, "If you get drunk, you're not allowed to take the bus," she said.
