By Joe Johnson
An Athens woman Wednesday afternoon reportedly attacked a city bus driver, causing the bus to strike another vehicle.
According to an Athens-Clarke County police report, an Athens Transit bus picked up 65-year-old Sally Mae Thomas of Catalpa Way at the intersection of Danielsville Road and Linda Avenue.
As the bus reached the intersection of Old Hull Road and U.S. Highway 29 North, Thomas stood up and began cursing at the driver and grabbing on the driver’s partition, according to the report.
After opening the partition, Thomas began punching the driver in the head, and the diver said her foot came off the brake pedal, causing the bus to strike a vehicle directly in front of it, according to the report.
The driver told police that Thomas then got off the bus and began to walk away on the highway, carrying a lime-colored handbag.
When officers located Thomas near a Taco Bell on U.S. Highway 29 North, she was detained for a show-up by the bus driver, and when the driver identified the woman as the person who attacked her, Thomas was arrested and charged with battery and reckless conduct, according to the report.
The report did not indicate any injuries.