Escondido police investigating fight between students, bus driver – NBC 7 San Diego

The Escondido Police Department is investigating whether to pursue charges against three 14-year-old San Pasqual High School students who were involved in a fight with a North County Transit District bus driver Tuesday.

The fight, which occurred sometime after 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, was captured on video by witnesses and has been circulating on social media.

Escondido police said the incident began when students from San Pasqual High School boarded the NCTD bus at a stop outside the school and began "causing a disturbance," which prompted the bus driver, a 64-year-old man, to call his supervisor and shut off the bus.

Some girls on the bus attempted to exit but the bus driver stood in their way, EPD said. When the driver eventually moved, the driver pushed one of the students exiting, prompting a fight. On Thursday, the NCTD released video recorded by cameras onboard the bus showing the confrontation between the driver and students before it spilled onto the sidewalk.

Outside the bus, the fight escalated between the driver and at least two other girls. According to investigators, one of the teen girls began punching the driver and then knocked him to the ground and at least one other teen joined in on the fight.

One of the girls, shown in a video making rounds on social media appears to be kicking the driver, and yells to a bystander trying to break up the fight, "He f------ shoved me."

A witness named Gabriel said he was only steps away when it spilled onto the sidewalk.

“I saw how she got him by the shoulders and tried to slam him on the ground," Gabriel said.

Another student and an off-duty security guard who were on the bus helped pull the students away from the driver.

The students then fled the area and the driver stated he was uninjured, EPD said.

Escondido police has investigated the incident and will forward their findings to the Juvenile District Attorney’s Office for a review of charges. The Escondido Unified High School District is also aware of the incident and is working with the Escondido Police Department. 

The North County Transit District has a third-party investigating.

"The [North County Transit District] is concerned about the unfortunate incident that occurred at a bus stop near San Pasqual High School. MV Transportation (MV), NCTD’s contractor for bus operations and the employer of the bus driver, is actively conducting an investigation," NCTD spokesperson Colleen Windsor said in a statement.

At the time of the fight, witnesses said there were less than 50 students in the area in front of the school. The physical altercation lasted less than a minute.

Many San Pasqual students take NCTD buses to and from school. Students tell NBC 7 that scuffles like this one are rare.

"It was pretty hectic. I didn’t expect that to happen on a bus," junior student Natalia added.