WESTERN BUREAU:
A BUS driver who was hit in the face last Wednesday night by one of two men who refused to pay their fares, has lost his left eye.
Cecil McQuarrie, 48, who drives a bus on the Montego Bay-to-Savanna-la-Mar route, suffered a broken nose also, and is still a patient at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, Montego Bay.
It's reported that at the Montego Bay bus park, two men boarded the Toyota Hiace minibus en route to Savanna-la-Mar, driven by McQuarrie. On reaching the Haughton Grove crossing, the two men stopped the bus and got off, refusing to pay their $40 fares.
An argument developed between them and the bus conductor. McQuarrie intervened and one of the men threw a bottle, hitting him in the face.
The incident sparked a demonstration by about 30 bus drivers who ply the Montego Bay-to-Savanna-la-Mar route. Some used their buses to block the Chichester main road, disrupting the flow of traffic for about an hour.
The Ramble police on Wednesday arrested Marlon Davidson, 23, of Seaview Drive, Lucea, Hanover, in connection with the incident. Davidson is charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and is to be taken before the Lucea Resident Magistrate's Court on January 2.
