Police: Teen Arrested For Temporarily Blinding MTA Bus Driver With Laser Pointer
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A teenager has been arrested for allegedly temporarily blinding a city bus driver with a laser pointer last month.
Michael Ramos, 16, of the Bronx faces a reckless endangerment charge in connection with the Nov. 18 incident.
Ramos was riding a Bx15 bus when he aimed the laser pointer at the driver's rearview mirror, police said.
MTA bus driver Kenneth Johnson said the beam struck him in his eyes when he looked into the mirror.
"It was like looking into a bright light. It was a red beam," said Johnson. "I was blinded by the light, so I really couldn't identify who the passenger was who was shooting it."
Johnson stopped the bus on Third Avenue at East 181st Street, but the suspect was able to escape with a crowd of about 25 other riders.
Johnson was taken to the hospital and treated for eye pain, police said.
