Arturo Rios was trying to get home after a long day when he tells KSAT that a ride on a VIA bus turned into a violent attack that left him with six broken ribs and a fear of riding public transportation.
Rios said he was riding the Route 2 bus in downtown on Monday, Oct. 5, when a woman tried to take his phone. He said he refused to give her the device, and the confrontation quickly turned physical.
For him, taking the bus is a necessity. He said a previous neck injury left him with several metal plates in his neck. Along with the medication he takes from that injury, he is unable to drive on his own, leaving him dependent on VIA to get to work and run daily errands.
“I have to ride the bus for everything. I am disabled,” Rios told KSAT.
Rios said he boarded the bus around 9:20 p.m. after stopping at a convenience store in the downtown area. He noticed passengers arguing toward the back but initially kept to himself.
He said he was on the phone with his fiancée when a person wearing a red hoodie approached and reached for his phone. Rios initially thought the person was a man but later learned the person was a woman. He said he struggled to hold on to his phone before the woman bit and scratched him and pulled him to the floor.
“I think she grabbed me by my neck, and she pulled me to the floor,” Rios said. “We struggled. I landed on the floor and all of a sudden she starts kicking my neck, my head.”
He told KSAT he tried to protect his head and neck because of a previous injury, leaving his chest exposed.
“She stomped me on my left side,” he said. “Then she knocked the wind out of me. All I seen was just white. Knocked the breath out of me. I couldn’t breathe.”
He said emergency responders took him to the hospital, where doctors told him he had six broken ribs, three on each side of his chest. He stayed in the hospital ICU for days before being transferred and eventually released to go home.
The injuries have added to the chronic pain Rios already experiences from a neck injury that required surgery.
“I started to cry. I started to cry,” Rios said. “I felt helpless and angry.”
He said he is still struggling to understand why the attack happened.
“I just want to know why, what was the reason?” he said emotionally. “Just for a phone?”
Rios said no one intervened during the attack, including the bus driver.
“Nobody came to help me,” he said. “The bus driver didn’t help me. It was like everyone just kept ignoring it.”
He believes someone could have stepped in to stop the violence sooner. Rios said he has witnessed other troubling behavior on VIA buses, including harassment of passengers, drug use and other unsafe activities.
“I’ve seen harassment,” he said. “I’ve seen people that are on drugs try to harass women. There are other things that happen when you’re waiting for the bus too.”
Now, he said, he pays closer attention to other passengers and tries to sit near the driver. Even then, he still worries about his safety.
“I don’t feel safe no more,” Rios said. “But I don’t know what to do because I can’t take myself anywhere.”
Because he relies on public transportation, the attack has forced him to reconsider how he gets around. He said he may consider taking Uber or Lyft for some trips but is not too happy about the added expense and stress that can bring.
Rios wants VIA to consider adding security on nighttime routes and taking steps to protect passengers when violence occurs. He added that he has requested the surveillance video from VIA during the night he was attacked.
He’s waiting to get that video and share with KSAT. The KSAT newsroom also sent a request for the video to VIA. We have not received it yet.
VIA confirmed Erika Leanda Chandler, 30, was arrested in connection to the incident. She was charged with assault causing bodily injury and an arraignment hearing will be held in December.
As for Rios, he told KSAT he hopes sharing his experience will lead to more attention to passenger safety.
“I was in dire need,” Rios added. “I needed help, but I couldn’t. I just don’t want anyone else to have to deal with this. Something must be done.”
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