*The woman whose violent assault on a Metrobus in D.C. was captured on video and shared on social media is speaking out after the clip went viral.
In an exclusive interview with FOX 5, Kyla Thurston said she gets “emotional” anytime she thinks about being attacked and pushed off of a D.C. Metrobus.
“I wouldn’t want, you know, no one else to have to go through this – it’s emotional just thinking about it,” Thurston said.
FOX 5 obtained the clip which shows a group of wild youth —– and possibly some adults — verbally assaulting Thurston as she stands near the backdoor of the bus. The group tells her to “get off the bus” and when it comes to a stop and the doors open, the juveniles attack the woman.
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#NOW @fox5dc immediately reached-out to @wmata after seeing a VID that appears to show a woman violently shoved-off of a W4 bus by a group of teens & possible adults. The woman who recorded cried through our interview saying something needs to be done. pic.twitter.com/jILPy0Y9DF
— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) October 18, 2022
The woman who recorded the video was with her two young children and Thurston had given up her seat to the mother when she came onboard the bus. Thurston said the violent confrontation was sparked when she asked the rowdy group to stop cursing.
“At that point, the kids became unruly. They started being disrespectful, like saying things to me,” Thurston said. “Then next thing you know, there were objects being throw at me, and I was just like, ‘Thank You, Lord,’ because throughout the whole incident the only thing I could recall was the kids hitting me and kicking me – and I had no defense.”
Thurston said she asked the bus driver numerous times to stop, but he “made no attempt to stop the bus,” she said.
“He didn’t alert local authorities or anything to my defense. Even after I’m yelling at the top of my lungs, ‘Stop the bus – let me off the bus,’ the bus driver never stopped,” Thurston continued.
The group allegedly threw bottles at Thurston, shoved her, and she was choked as they pushed her off the bus. The footage does not show anyone intervening to defend the woman. The mother who recorded the incident said she was too concerned for her own safety and that of her kids to step in and help the victim. She recorded the attack with the hope that the footage would lead to an arrest.
Thurston said the attack left her with a bruised arm, her neck was hurt in the assault and she is still suffering from emotional trauma.
“Watching the video myself personally, it startled me – and I’m still startled about it,” she said adding that she’s grateful for the passenger who shot video of the attack and who came forward on her behalf. “I didn’t want to come forth at first – but I don’t fear nobody but the Lord,” Thurston said.
A Metro spokesperson called the incident “disturbing” and “unacceptable” in a statement.
The Metro Transit Police Department is reportedly investigating the matter and there have not yet been any arrests made.
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