Police search for man accused of assaulting MBTA bus driver

SAUGUS – Saugus and Transit Police are looking for a man they say spit on and hit an MBTA bus driver Wednesday.Police responded to the number 837 bus on Main Street near Route 1 at around 6:30 p.m. for an assault that allegedly occurred in Malden.A Transit Police report stated that the driver of the route 428 bus told police that a passenger spit on and hit him with an open hand on his right shoulder. The driver said the passenger became verbally abusive because the driver had not stopped at “his stop,” said the report.Saugus Police Chief Domenic DiMella said the passenger got on the bus at Haymarket station in Boston and thought the driver missed his stop.?He got mad and started throwing punches at the driver but he blocked all the punches,” said DiMella.The MBTA described the suspect as a white male, approximately 50 years old with gray, ear-length hair, 6 feet tall weighing around 200 pounds and wearing glasses, light blue jeans, a light colored shirt, black jacket, gray sneakers and carrying a black suitcase with wheels.The report said the suspect fled the bus at Main and Vine streets in Saugus with his suitcase in tow.A search of the immediate area turned up no results, however, police released surveillance photos of the man.The MBTA is urging anyone who can identify the suspect to contact the Transit Police Criminal Investigations Unit at 617-222-1050 or the Intelligence Unit at 617-222-1170. You can also do so anonymously via MBTA SeeSay or text 873873.The assault was the second spitting incident in a week. Last Thursday a passenger spit on a bus driver in Charlestown.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].