Cleveland Bus Uppercut Victim Speaks Out About Fight [Video]

The female passenger who was punched in the jaw by a Cleveland bus driver is giving her side of the story. Given the force of the blow from the driver, “I felt like I was on Mortal Kombat,” she revealed.

The victim, identified by Fox 8 Cleveland as Shidea Lane, 25, spoke out publicly for the first time to the Fox affiliate about the incident that was captured on a cell phone video that went viral:

“The bus driver didn’t think I had any money to get on the bus and I was looking for it, trying to tell him that I have money to get on the bus. Can you just let me find it? And from there it just escalated…

“It’s amazing to see how a man would hit a woman that hard. Are you serious? You could have pulled me off the bus. You can’t really touch anyone, but for real? You really punched me?”

Lane would not comment on her role in apparently antagonizing the driver, however. “That’s why I want to talk to my lawyer. I don’t really want to, I can’t answer that question. It’s more than that,” Lane explained.

Lane admitted that in the future, she would handle things differently. “And if something like this escalates, I would just remove myself quickly.”

The bus driver has been suspended indefinitely without pay; the bus company has put out statement that his behavior was unacceptable and apologized to all its customers. A Facebook page has been set up in support of the driver being reinstated, however. He has not made any comment to the media to this point.

The incident itself is under investigation.

Watch Shidea Lane’s interview with Cleveland reporter Mellisa Reid of Fox 8:

This Fox video contains an interview with a passenger who witnessed the confrontation: