Bus driver ID’d by friends after shooting, crash

By Deion Broxton

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    ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — Friends of a Metro bus driver are showing support after the driver was shot while driving a bus in north St. Louis County Friday night.

The Metro bus crashed into a utility pole in the 3400 block of Lucas and Hunt, according Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis.

A friend of the driver and barber LaMario Stewart identified the man by his nickname, J Traxx.

The shooting happened just after 7 p.m. Police say shots were fired from outside the bus, hitting the driver, which caused the bus to crash. The driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

“Full of life. Full of energy. Supports the community,” Stewart said. “We’ve been friends since high school, but we just caught back up recently about the haircuts about two or three years ago.”

Stewart added that J Traxx is the father of 1-year-old twins.

Nobody else on the bus was injured.

“We are deeply saddened that on Friday evening, one of our MetroBus operators was a victim of senseless gun violence,” Bi-State Development said in a statement.

On Saturday, Bi-State said they have assigned more transit security specialists to patrol certain bus routes. The agency also said they’re increase the number of security officers on duty across the whole bus system in transit centers.

Bi-State is also offering mental health resources to its employees.

The Major Case Squad is investigating. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477 and leave an anonymous tip. An award of up to $5,000 is being offered.

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