A routine COTA ride through Columbus’ East Side turned frightening when a mother says a female passenger repeatedly kicked the stroller holding her 9-month-old son. The baby was taken to an emergency room afterward and, his mother says, was cleared of a concussion and is now recovering from a few bruises.
Marceline Meade told MyFox28 Columbus that the confrontation happened July 21 in Olde Towne East. She said she had asked the driver to address young passengers who were roughhousing in the back of the bus because she was worried someone could get hurt.
Stroller Attack Allegedly Followed Argument With Bus Driver
Meade said a woman in that group began yelling at her after she raised the safety concern. The dispute escalated, she said, with the passenger allegedly kicking Rowan’s stroller several times while he remained seated inside.
Security footage obtained by Rowan’s father reportedly shows a person attacking another seated passenger before kicking the stroller and getting off the bus. The video has become a central piece of the family’s effort to identify the person involved.
COTA’s published safety rules allow strollers on buses, but instruct riders to secure the child and lock the stroller’s wheels; operators can also ask that a stroller be folded or moved if it blocks an aisle or doorway, according to the Central Ohio Transit Authority. Nothing in the available reporting indicates the stroller policy played a role in the confrontation.
Columbus Police Say No Suspect Has Been Identified
Columbus police are investigating, but no suspect has been identified and no charges have been filed, according to MyFox28 Columbus. COTA said it was working with police and providing information from the bus system’s security cameras.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or recognizes the passenger is asked to contact Columbus police at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. For Meade, the unanswered question is why a disagreement over bus behavior ended with her baby’s stroller becoming the target.
