His hand and wrist bandaged up, just two days after he was attacked by a distressed man, bus driver Steven Blondin said he can't wait to get back to work.
“I still love my job,” Blondin said, standing outside the downtown bus terminal. “I want to get back behind the wheel as soon as I can. If it wasn't for these injuries, I would have been back today.”
A bus operator for more than two years, Blondin said this is the first time he has been attacked. He received 20 stitches in the Sunday evening incident. It started when he was leaving Health Sciences North, headed to the Algoma when he saw the man who later attacked him.
“He seemed to be in distress, (so) I stopped to let him on to try and help him out,” Blondin said. “At first, he was incoherent. I couldn't tell what he was saying. After that, he was yelling 'Drive! I'm dying!' over and over again. He seemed very panicked and very stressed out.
“After a brief time of me talking to him, him talking to me, he attacked me with an edged weapon. After a brief struggle, I was able to wrestle him to the ground and subdue him. Police were quickly on the scene and they were able to get control of the situation.”
Paramedics arrived and treated him, and he spent a couple of hours in hospital before being released. He was afraid for his life, and reacted in a “fight or die” mode.
“If I didn't, I would have been more seriously injured, if not dead,” he said.
He managed to contact his family – including his fiance he plans on marrying in July – to let them know he was OK. Fellow bus drivers also converged to show their support.
“They were extremely concerned with my well-being. This is the first time, really, in recent history that this has happened.”
Michelle Ferrigan, director of transit services, said they were in shock following the incident, but she was impressed by how everyone came together.
“Yesterday, we spent most of the day here with operators, to speak with them, share information, share our thoughts,” Ferrigan said. “There was a really good team spirit, good morale. Steve was able to come for a visit, which really helped. We have a really good, family unit.
“They were happy to see Steve, happy to see things were being done and that we were there for them … It was an uplifting kind of moment, because we stuck together.”
There's an existing group that meets every three months to discuss safety on Sudbury Transit buses, she said. They'll move up the date of the next meeting to discuss the latest incident.
“Any time there's an incident, whether it be small or something significant like Sunday night, we take a look at the incident, look at our procedures, look at our protocols, ensure we have every tool in place for everyone to react to these situations,” she said. “In this particular situation, we will be taking a deeper look.”
One item that will be discussed is bringing in plexiglass barriers to protect drivers. The idea was considered a few years ago following other incidents, but the bus operators themselves decided against it.
“We're going to look at it, really do a thorough investigation and see the pros and cons of these barriers,” Ferrigan said. “In the last several years, we would have had a few physical assaults, which would consist of kicking or punching, and in this circumstance, stabbing.”
“That's a double sided coin,” Blondin said, when asked his thoughts on the barriers. “Yes, it would have stopped the situation altogether. But also, it keeps us away from the passengers. It eliminates that friendliness that we have. So there's pros and cons.
“I do like being able to have that (personal rapport) with the passengers. To be behind glass would diminish that to an extent. But having that barrier would help keep us safe.”
