CHARLOTTE — A man was seen hitching a ride on the back of a CATS bus late Tuesday afternoon in on Blendwood Drive in northeast Charlotte.
Vincent Burris said he was driving home from work when he saw the stunt.
“I’m thinking in my head, if he falls off the back of that bus, like any one of the cars back, like behind us, could have hit him,” Burris said.
Burris said the man clinging to the bus didn’t get hurt.
“The individual on the back of that bus could have hurt themselves,” he said. “Or because all the cars had to try to get out from behind that bus. Now, there could have been a potential car accident.”
A CATS spokesperson said the bus operator was unaware of the person on the back of the bus. While this person was not hurt, CATS reminded viewers of the significant injury risk from jumping on a bus in the manner.
“If you see anyone participating in this behavior, CATS urges community members to immediately call 911 to report such incidents,” they said.
Full statement from CATS:
CATS is aware of the Twitter video showing a person hanging on the back of a CATS bus traveling along Route 3. The bus operator was unaware of the person on the back of the vehicle. The person got off the vehicle without any known injuries to CATS’ knowledge. CATS wants to emphasize and remind the public that riding or jumping on the back of any transit vehicle is unsafe and can cause significant harm or bodily injury. If you see anyone participating in this behavior, CATS urges community members to immediately call 911 to report such incidents. CATS also encourages drivers not to be distracted by videoing these incidents as it can cause additional accidents. Safety is paramount to CATS and to continue creating a safe environment for our community, customers and operators, CATS encourages everyone to ride transit responsibly.
(Watch the video below: Courtesy of Vincent Burris)
©2022 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
