What to Know
- A beloved Bronx bus driver is back on the job after he was left bloody and bruised in a vicious beatdown
- After being knocked unconscious, Charles McLennon woke up and looked in the mirror to see his swollen face being held together with stitches
- As he was out, the students he's driven for 16 years reached out to him at home wishing him well and hoping he comes back soon
A beloved bus driver who has been transporting Bronx schoolkids for 16 years is back on the job after he was left bloody and bruised in an attack earlier in May.
Charles McLennon was walking to his school bus parked on 3rd Avenue near East 167th Street on May 1 when an attacker snuck up behind the 71-year-old, hitting him on the side of the head. McLennon was knocked to the ground, and was struck again when he tried to get back up.
After being knocked unconscious, he came to and looked in the mirror to see his swollen face being held together with stitches.
“Why? Keep asking everybody why,” said McLennon. “I still don’t know why.”
Before the assailant ran off, he was able to get a quick glance at his face.
What helped life McLennon’s spirits as he recovered at home were the phone calls and messages he received from students he has driven to school over the past 16 years.
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“For one thing the kids are looking for me,” said McLennon. “When they don’t see Charles, they calling me up at their house!”
Now back on the job, McLennon is surrounded by staff and the students who missed him.
“They were so sad. Each day they want to look at my face, (saying) ‘Charles it’s getting better. Let me see your eyes. It’s getting better!’”
McLennon is hoping police are able to make an arrest, but is focusing on the good feelings he gets from everyone as he sits behind the wheel.
Cops said McLennon was not robbed and nothing was taken from him. A reward is being offered for any information leading to an arrest.
