Man, 33, is charged with 'attacking driver and hijacking bus' before vehicle crashed into several cars
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By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
A man has been charged after a bus was stolen and crashed into a row of parked cars.
Ali Balhad, 33, will appear in court on Monday charged with aggravated vehicle taking, driving a motor vehicle dangerously, robbery, thefts from a store and three counts of criminal damage.
He is also charged with assault, attempted grievous bodily harm and threats to kill.
Armed officers were deployed to the scene in Telford, Shropshire, just after 6.30pm on Friday.
The bus driver was treated for minor injuries by paramedics, and no one else is believed to have been injured during the incident.
The defendant was remanded in custody to appear at Telford Magistrates Court on Monday.
It is understood he had been in the area for just a week before the alleged incident.
Footage circulating online showed the moment the man carried out his attack, and he is shown lunging towards the bus driver and pulling his beard before smashing the vehicle's cash register.
Officers were called to Court Street in Madeley at 6:37 PM on Friday, September 18, following reports that a bus driver was assaulted and thrown from his vehicle
The suspect drove the hijacked bus along Park Way toward High Street, travelling against traffic and hitting multiple vehicles before police stopped the bus and took him into custody
Care worker Kymberlee Daley, who filmed the video, bravely tried to intervene as the driver was attacked.
She can be heard pleading with the man to stop, while the panicked driver begs bystanders to call the police.
The driver was able to exit the bus, but separate footage shows the attacker taking off with the vehicle.
Ms Daley chases the bus alongside as she warns bystanders to move out of the way as the crazed hijacker appears to drive recklessly down a road.
The bus collided with multiple cars before cops managed to bring it to a halt, The Sun reports.
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