Edmonton senior waits nearly 30 minutes for help after assault on bus

An elderly man and his family are concerned after he was in an altercation on an Edmonton bus with a group of teenage girls and it took 35 minutes until paramedics were safely able to help him.

Keith M. Lawton said he was riding the No. 8 bus on 118 Avenue and 62 Street when more than a dozen teen girls got on.

He said he heard them say they were buzzed and they started picking on another passenger.

Lawton tried to intervene, and that’s when the altercation started.

“They were primed and ready to go, I didn’t have a chance to say more than ‘woah,’” said Lawton.

The girls started punching and hitting him, he said.

“They were coming from everywhere.”

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Lawton said he was disoriented and the next thing he knew, he was being pushed off the bus and hit the side of his head on the concrete while the girls continued to yell at him and hit him.

Lawton said people who live nearby and saw the commotion brought paper towels down from their apartment to staunch bleeding coming from his head.

Meanwhile, the suspects fled.

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The bus driver had pushed the emergency alarm button on the bus dashboard, which notifies the control room at the Edmonton Transit Service.

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ETS has not provided a timeline of events but Alberta Health Services said it got a call from transit four minutes after the driver pushed the button.

According to the Edmonton Police Service, AHS EMS requested police help to clear the scene 10 minutes after that.

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Police then arrived another 14 minutes later, cleared the scene, and 35 minutes after the assault happened, EMS were able to look at Lawton.

“It shouldn’t be a half-hour or more for response to a bus alarm … it was 62 Street and 118 Avenue, there are cops all around here,” Lawton said.

Lawton said he suffered a concussion as well as scrapes on his arms and legs.

Police said the bus was three-quarters full but no passengers stuck around to speak to police. Those passengers, if they witnessed the event, are asked to contact police.

Investigators have pictures of three teenage girls who are suspects in the assault and encourage them to turn themselves in.

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Steve Bradshaw, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 569, said when the emergency button is pressed on the bus, a dispatcher is informed, who calls the operator and determines what response is needed.

However, it’s possible the long wait was because all other emergency crews were tied up at the time of the alleged assault, he said.

“As much as I wish we could stop every single one of these, I can’t picture how we could do it,” he said. “We do our best, our members do our best, the city is trying hard to do its part.”

Bradshaw said addressing root causes and a generally more civilized society would help prevent this issue.