Bus driver William Jackson was afraid someone was going to get hurt.

        People were rushing onto his No. 21 Metro bus Saturday night as it idled in front of the Aronoff Center.

        On and around Walnut Street, chaos grew as groups of young males from the Black Family Reunion ran, knocking over garbage cans and publication racks, throwing rocks and bottles. Some got on his bus.

        “I asked them to slow down,” the 43-year-old Westwood man said Tuesday. “They kept rushing on. I was afraid somebody was going to get hurt.”

        He didn't think it would be him.

        In the split-second it took a young male to yell expletives and punch him in the face, Mr. Jackson became a victim of the violence that marred the Reunion on Saturday and Sunday nights.

        It was chaos, recalled Mr. Jackson, who has attended previous Reunions.

        The young male who punched him joined others who jumped out the emergency window, while others poured in the back door.

        More than a dozen riders witnessed the assault. No one came to help Mr. Jackson. No arrests have been made.

        “They were just as frightened as anything,” said Mr. Jackson, 6-6, a Hughes High grad and a former basketball teammate of NBA power forward Charlie Oakley at Virginia Union, then a Division II college powerhouse.

        “I just didn't want more people coming on the bus creating more havoc.”

        He got the bus front door closed and kept people calm. A second bus came and completed his route.

        Mr. Jackson suffered a swollen face and was treated at the scene by emergency medical personnel. He was treated at Good Samaritan Hospital and released.

        “We as a city have to look at what's going on with our teens,” he said. “I mean, I live here in the United States, but I felt like I was living in Israel.

        “I'm not saying all teen-agers are bad — some are really polite,“ said the soft-spoken Mr. Jackson. “I thank God for being there with me. I have no doubt he was there. I pray for the guy. I forgive him.”

        The surveillance camera on the bus did not capture the incident.

        The man who punched him is a black male, 17 or 18 years old, about 6 feet tall, weighing 180 pounds, with gold teeth. He was wearing a red headband and dark shorts. He carried a yellow shirt but wasn't wearing one.

        Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.

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