A Brooklyn man stormed onto an MTA bus in a fit of rage and choked the driver over a minor fender-bender, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Shevaughn Legall, 25, exploded in anger about 9:05 a.m. Tuesday, accusing the 68-year-old bus driver of sideswiping Legall’s car in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to prosecutors.
Legall pulled his car in front of the victim’s B26 bus on Halsey St. at Lewis Ave., bocking the way. He then stormed onto the bus and started choking the driver, prosecutors said.
The victim, who suffered pain to his neck, refused medical attention.
Cops arrested Legall at the scene. He was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court Wednesday for felony assault, strangulation and other charges.
His lawyer, Nora Wallace of the Legal Aid Society, described him as an electrician with a 1-year-old daughter and no criminal record.
“In no way am I minimizing the charges here, but there is no serious physical injury alleged here,” Wallace said.
Prosecutors reqeuested Legall be held on $15,000 bond but Judge Joshua Glick ordered him placed on supervised release without bail — a decision that drew outrage from the driver’s union and his MTA boss..
“The criminal justice system let us down,” said Frank Annicaro, MTA’s bus boss, who watched the proceedings from the gallery.
“The NYPD swiftly responded and arrested this unhinged lunatic who attacked our bus operator. The district attorney followed the legislation that’s been put in [place] to protect transit workers and tried to prosecute and set bail. And this judge is letting this lunatic walk.”
