A WeGo Public Bus driver is standing up for her colleagues after she was assaulted by a passenger. “We are afraid to step out and say something because we don’t want to lose our jobs,” WeGo bus driver Sheryl Utley said.
For 7 years, Sheryl Utley has worked for WeGo. On the morning of January 18th, 2022 near Gallatin Avenue and Broadmoor Drive, she asked passenger Jason Turner to wear a mask. She said he became unruly.
She remembers him throwing it on the ground and becoming angry.
“He caught me off guard and he swung around the Plexiglass that they had for safety for Covid. He punched me in my left eye,” Utley said.
She snapped a photo of Turner when he finally got off her bus. She wanted to call the police but said the company’s policy is to call a supervisor.
“I was out there from 6:45 or 6:49 when the incident happened. She didn’t let me know she didn’t call the police until 7:05,” Utley explained.
Utley thinks her supervisors didn’t react quickly enough.
“When I told her that he threatened to kill me 5 times before punching me in the eye and threatened to kill me five more times. I should’ve called the police, but I was trained to call my superior and let them handle that,” Utley said.