SURREY — A man who punched a bus driver in the face as he drove down a busy Surrey street has been sentenced to two years in jail.
Sean Tyler Quaye, 26, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm after hearing just 90 minutes of testimony at his trial in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Thursday morning. He was sentenced in the afternoon.
On the evening of March 26, Quaye and Carly Whitford got on the No. 341 bus at 72nd Avenue and 138th Street, near Newton Exchange. Neither could pay the fare, but driver Jagdeep Grewal let them ride the bus anyway.
Within minutes of getting on the bus, Quaye got into some kind of confrontation with Grewal and, without warning, punched Grewal in the face.
“He had no chance of defending himself whatsoever,” Justice Robert Jenkins said in his decision.
At the time of the assault, Grewal was driving between 30 and 40 km/h on 72nd Avenue, preparing to make a left turn on to 144th Street. There were a number of passengers on the bus.
“By your actions you put not only the other passengers at risk, but also pedestrians and other drivers,” Jenkins said.
Luckily, Grewal was able to stop the bus safely and Quaye fled.
Grewal suffered serious injuries, including a broken nose, fractured orbital bone and concussion symptoms. He has not been able to return to work.
“What you have done to Mr. Grewal is beyond comprehension,” Jenkins said.
Defence lawyer Dan Redekopp said Quaye was high on crystal meth and drunk at the time of the assault. Quaye had apparently thought Grewal said something to him and was insulted by it. Quaye acknowledged, through his lawyer, that he has a problem controlling his anger.
Jenkins said that being high and drunk is no excuse for Quaye’s actions.
Outside court, Unifor Local 111 president Nathan Woods said it’s the first time he’s walked out of a courtroom after a driver-assault case and been happy with the result.
“It’s long overdue to have a judge consider this kind of sentence, and for one I think transit operators and riders are exceptionally happy this has transpired today,” Woods said.
“It’s the most amazing news.”
Outside court after the plea, Grewal said that Quaye made the right choice in pleading guilty. He said stiff sentences from the courts make people think twice before assaulting a bus driver.
